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THE FLIGHT INTO EGYPT. 



The angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the 
young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt." — Matt. ii. 13. 



BIBLE MODELS, 



The Shining Lights of Scripture. 



rev. richard' newton, d.d.. 

For Many Years Pastor of One of the Principal Churches of Philadelphia, and 
Celebrated for his Interesting Discourses to Young People. 



BIBLE INSTRUCTION MADE EASY 
AND INTERESTING. 



ILLUSTRATED 

WITH ONE HUNDRED ENGRAVINGS FROM PICTURES 
BY FAMOUS ARTISTS. 




PUBLISHED BY THE 

CHARLES FOSTER PUBLISHING CO., 

No. 716 Sansom Street, 
PHILADELPHIA, PA. 







Copyright, 1896, 
BY CHARLES FOSTER PUBLISHING CO. 



The Libra k* 





PREFACE 



In ancient Rome it was the custom for fathers to 
put up in the halls of their dwellings statues of cele- 
brated men, where the children of their households 
might see them, and thus, perhaps, be influenced to 
follow their example. This was a wise thing to do ; 
for it no doubt led many of the Roman boys and girls 
to admire the famous personages in the past history 
of their nation, and made them try to become like 
them. 

Our dear Father in heaven has done something 
like this for the Church, which is His family. He has 
filled His blessed book — the Bible — with interesting 



6 PREFACE. 

histories of the lives and characters of great and good 
men who have been His servants and followers from 
the beginning of the world ; so that we, who live in 
these later times, may learn of their thoughts and 
actions and be made better by them. 

The Apostle James shows us the use God intends 
we shall make of these histories, when he says : 
"Take, my brethren, the prophets for an example." 
This means that we should study the lives of the holy 
men of whom we read in the Bible, until we get the 
model points of their characters impressed upon our 
minds ; and then by the grace of God we may be able 
to bring these virtues forth again in our own hearts 
and lives. 

The author of this book has endeavored to place 
before young readers, in a clear and forcible manner, 
the admirable traits of character possessed by some 
of the great men of the Bible. The advantages to 
be gained by following these "Bible Models" are 
plainly shown by many interesting stories drawn from 
actual life. A large number of pictures of Bible 
scenes accompany the text ; and as many of these are 
copied from paintings of world-wide celebrity they 
cannot fail to add to the value of the book. 



PREFACE. 7 

It is hoped that not only young - , but older persons 
also will find pleasure as well as profit in the pages 
of this volume ; and that, perhaps, as they become 
familiar with the lofty examples held up to their gaze, 
their hearts will go out in earnest prayer that "God 
may give them grace to follow His blessed Saints in 
all virtuous and godly living, so they may come to 
the unspeakable joys which He has prepared for 
those who unfeignedly love Him." 





ABELS OFFERING 



ABEL, THE MODEL SPEAKER. 



By it, he being dead, yet speaketh." — Hebrews xi : 4, 




jHE apostle is speaking here of Abel. He 
was the brother of Cain — the second son 
of our first parents, Adam and Eve. 
This carries us back to the very begin- 
ning of the world's history. Here we 
have an account given us of the sacrifice 
that was offered by these two brothers. This is the 
first time that we find anything said about a sacrifice 
in the Bible. And as Abel was the first person to 
offer a sacrifice, so far as we know, so he was the 
first person, belonging to our race, who died, and the 
first who entered heaven. 

The apostle tells us that Abel offered a better 
sacrifice than his brother did ; and then he says that 
"By it, he being dead, yet speaketh." 

It is appropriate that we should begin this book of 
Bible Models with the story of Abel. Afterward we 
shall take up others of the leading persons whose his- 
tories are given in the Bible, and point out the prin- 
cipal characteristics of each. 



IO BIBLE MODELS. 

From what the apostle says of Abel in our text, 
we may consider him as The Model Speaker. 

It may seem strange to take this view of him 
when we do not know a single word that he ever 
spoke. But then we must remember that we speak 
by our lives, as well as with our lips; and that, as 
the old proverb says, "Actions speak louder than 
words y And it is by his life, or actions, that we 
are now to look at Abel as speaking, while we con- 
sider him as "the model speaker." And in thus 
considering him, there are two things for us to notice : 
one of these is the matter of his speaking; the other 
is the manner of it. 

Now let us look at the matter of Abel's speaking — 
or what he spoke about. 

When a person is going to make a speech, it is 
very important for him to choose a good subject. 
Abel did this. The thing to which the apostle here 
refers, as that by which Abel speaks to us, is the 
sacrifice which he offered. When God gave Adam 
and Eve the first promise, about "the seed of the 
woman," — which referred to Christ ; there can be no 
doubt that He told them to offer sacrifices, in con- 
nection with their daily worship. These sacrifices 
were intended as types, or figures of our Saviour 
Christ, and of the one great sacrifice which He was 
to offer, in the fullness of time, for the sins of the 
whole world. They pointed to Him as "the lamb slain 
from the foundation of the world." 

Cain paid no attention to what God had said on 
this subject. He brought only the fruits of the 
ground for his offering. But Abel minded what 



12 BIBLE MODELS. 

God had said, and brought a lamb for an offering. 
The blood of this lamb was shed, and its body 
offered as a burnt sacrifice upon the altar. And it 
is by this action, that "he being dead, yet speaketh." 
Abel was a model speaker because, by what he did, 
he spoke about Christ and his death. And this is 
the most important thing that any one can ever 
speak about. And there are three reasons why this 
subject is so important : 

In the first place, this is an important subject to 
speak about, because we cannot — be good — till we know 
about Jesus, and his death. Here, for instance, is my 
watch. Suppose that its main-spring were broken ; 
could it keep good time ? No. I might wind it up, 
and make the fingers point to the right hour ; but it 
would be of no use. It could not keep good time. 
The only thing to do with such a watch would be to 
take it to a watch-maker, and let him put a new main- 
spring in it. 

Now our hearts are to us what the main-spring is 
to a watch. But sin has made our hearts wicked. 
This is like breaking the main-spring of a watch. And 
Jesus is the only One who can put our hearts right. 
And we never can be, really, and truly good, till we 
take our hearts to Jesus, and ask him to make them 
right. Then, we shall be like the watch, that has a 
new main-spring in it. It will keep good time. 

A gentleman, very well known in this country, died 
not long ago. He tried for awhile to be good with- 
out the help of Jesus. But at last he gave it up, and 
asked him to make his heart right. And before he 
died, in talking to his minister, he said, "The great 



14 BIBLE MODELS. 

mistake of my life has been that 1 tried to be moral, 
or good, without the help of Christ ; but I have 
learned that we can only be truly moral, or good, by 
the help of that grace which Jesus gives." This 
shows us that Abel was a model speaker, in the 
matter of his speaking, because by his sacrifice he 
spoke about Christ and his death, and we cannot be 
GOOD till we know about this. 

But we cannot — Be Happy — till we know about 
Christ and his death. And this is another reason why 
Abel was a model speaker, when by his sacrifice he 
spoke about him. 

Here is one of good Bishop Whipple's stories, to 
illustrate this part of our subject. 

"One day," says the Bishop, "an Indian came to 
my house. As soon as he entered, he kneeled at my 
feet. 'My father,' he said, T have come six hun- 
dred miles to thank you for your love to the Indians. 
I was a wild man, living beyond Turtle Mountain. I 
knew that my people were perishing. Every time I 
looked in the face of my child, it made my heart sick. 
My father told me there was a Great Spirit. Some- 
times I went into the woods, and asked this Spirit to 
help me. But there was no answer. It was like 
standing in the dark, and reaching out my hands to 
take hold of nothing. 

"'One day an Indian came to my wigwam. He said 
he had heard you tell a wonderful story at Red Lake. 
You said that the Great Spirit's Son had come down 
to earth, to save all the people that need help ; and that 
the reason why the white man was so much happier 
than the red man, was because he had the true religion 



ABEL, THE MODEL SPEAKER. 1 5 

of the Great Spirit's Son. Then I said I must see 
that man. They told me you would be at Red Lake 
Crossing. I went two hundred miles to see you. I 
asked for you. They told me you were sick, and 
could not come. Then I said where can I find a mis- 
sionary? I went one hundred and fifty miles more. 
I found that the missionary was a red man, like myself. 
My father, I have been with him three months. He 
has told me the wonderful story. I have it all in my 
heart. It is no longer dark here. My heart laughs 
all the time.'" 

But there is nothing that can lighten up the dark 
heart of the poor Indian, or any other poor sinner, and 
make it laugh all the time, as the story of Jesus can 
do. And Abel was a model speaker, because by what 
he did, he was speaking of Christ and his death, and 
we cannot be happy till we know this. 

But then we cannot — Be Safe — till we know about 
Jesus and his death. And this is the third reason why 
Abel was a model speaker, because, when he offered 
his sacrifice, this, was what he was speaking about. 

We may get a good illustration of this point of our 
subject, from what took place among the Israelites, in 
the night of their deliverance from the land of Egypt. 
God told them, that at midnight, he would send his 
angel, to pass over all the land, and destroy in a 
moment, the first-born, or oldest child, in every Egyp- 
tian family. And then he told them what to do, in 
order that they might be kept in safety, while the angel 
of death was doing his terrible work among the Egyp- 
tians. The Israelites were to take a lamb, for every 
family. They were to kill the lamb in the evening, 



1 6 BIBLE MODELS. 

and, with a bunch of hyssop, sprinkle its blood on the 
door-posts of their houses. Every family, that had 
this blood sprinkled on their doors, God said would be 
safe from the stroke of the destroying angel. 

The Jews tell this story in connection with that 
dreadful night. A Jewish father had one little girl, 
about ten years old. She was his only child, and he 
was very fond of her. As the first-born child, in that 
family, she would be the one to die, if the angel's 
stroke should fall on their dwelling. Before going to 
sleep, she asked her father if the blood had been 
sprinkled on their door-posts. He said it was, and she 
fell asleep. But her sleep was disturbed. She awoke 
several times, through the evening, and each time she 
asked anxiously, if it was all right about the blood. 
Assured that it was she tried to sleep on, but in vain. 
A little while before midnight, she woke again, in great 
alarm. She asked her father to take her in his arms, 
and carry her to the door, that she might see the blood. 
He did so ; but found, to his horror, that there was no 
blood 011 the door-posts ! It had been left to a servant to 
attend to it, and he had neglected it. Her father ran 
to get the blood, and then sprinkled it on the door- 
posts, with his own hand. His dear child saw the 
blood there. Then she knew that they were safe ; 
and she went sweetly to sleep. That blood protected 
them when the destroying angel passed over. 

And so, it is only seeing the blood of Christ, by 
faith, that makes our souls safe now. This is the 
most important thing to speak about, because it is 
the only thing that can make us good, and happy, and 
safe. 




THEY BROUGHT ALL THAT WERE DISEASED AND JESUS HEALED THEM. 



I 8 BIBLE MODELS. 

Abel was a model speaker because of the matter of 
his speaking, or what he spoke about. 

But Abel was a model speaker also, because of the 
— manner — of his speaking. 

He spoke by his life, or actions ; and there are three 
ways in which this made him a model speaker, i. In 
the first place it made him — a plain — speaker. 

Every body who has heard what the apostle Paul 
says about Abel's sacrifice, understands what it meant. 
When he spoke by that action Abel was speaking 
plainly. 

As he built his altar, and offered the lamb upon it, 
and stood by his sacrifice, to worship God, he was 
speaking very plainly, about the importance of the 
great sacrifice, which Christ was coming to offer. He 
was telling, as plainly as possible, that his only hope 
of being pardoned, and of going to heaven, was 
through that sacrifice. And what was true of Abel, is 
true of us all. When we speak by our actions, it is 
the best, and plainest way of speaking. We can find 
plenty of illustrations of this. 

The best recommendations. A o-entleman once 
advertised for a boy, to assist him in his office. 
Nearly fifty boys applied for the place the next day. 
Out of the whole number, in a little while, he chose 
one, and sent the rest away. 

A friend of his was in the office with him, at the time. 
When the choice had been made, and the other boys 
sent away, this friend said to him: " I am quite curious 
to know on what grounds you selected this boy. He 
had no letter of recommendation, while some of the 
others had several." 




JESUS BLESSING LITTLE CHILDREN. 



20 BIBLE MODELS. 

" You are mistaken," said the gentleman ; " this boy 
had better recommendations than any of the others. 
Let me tell you about them. When he came into the 
office, he wiped his feet, and closed the door after him. 
By this I knew that he was tidy and orderly. He gave 
up his seat in a moment, to that old lame man, who 
came in. This showed that he was kind and thought- 
ful. He took off his cap when he came in, and 
answered my questions promptly. This showed that 
he was polite and respectful. He lifted up the book, 
which I had purposely laid on the floor, and placed it 
on the table, while all the rest stepped over it, or 
thrust it aside with their feet. This showed that he 
was careful. He waited for his turn, instead of push- 
ing the others aside ; and this showed that he was 
modest. When I talked with him, I noticed that his 
clothes were carefully brushed ; his shoes were pol- 
ished, his hair well combed, and his teeth as white as 
milk. When he wrote his name, I noticed that his 
finger-nails were clean, instead of being black with 
dirt, as was the case with some of the boys who were 
better dressed than he. Don't you call these good 
letters of recommendation ? I do. What I learn about 
a boy, in watching him for a few minutes, is worth 
more than all the fine letters he can bring with him." 
That boy was speaking by those little acts. And you 
see how plainly he spoke. The gentleman understood 
him, and he got the place. 

A little pedlar speaking plainly. Robbie was a little 
fellow about ten or eleven years old. He used to go 
about with a basket on his arm, and sell pins, and 
tapes, and pocket-combs, and such things. One day 



ABEL, THE MODEL SPEAKER. 2 1 

he came into the waiting-room connected with the rail- 
way station, crying out — "Pins and pocket-combs! 
Pins and pocket-combs!" His voice was low, for he 
was tired, and faint for want of food. The busy crowd 
took no notice of the little pedlar. But, there was a 
lady there, who had been unfortunate enough to tear 
her silk dress. 

"Here, my boy," she said to him, "you have just 
what I want. Give me a paper of pins, that I may pin 
up this ugly rent, till I get home." And then, turning 
to the gentleman with her, who was her brother, she 
said, " Harry, will you pay this little fellow, for a paper 
of pins?" 

He was picking out some change, when Robbie said 
to the lady : 

"No, no, ma'am ! Don't take that paper ; it isn't a 
whole one. I cut off a row of pins from it, this morn- 
ing for my little sister, to dress her doll with." 

"Never mind, my little man," said the lady, "there 
are more than I want now, and I shall only have the 
less to throw away." 

"Then don't pay me so much," said Robbie, and he 
handed back two cents to the gentleman, who had 
given him ten. 

"Well, my little merchant," said the gentleman, 
"you are too honest. How do you ever expect to 
make a living, unless you cheat a little now and then?" 

Robbie's brown eyes opened very wide, when he 
heard this question. 

"Yes," said he, "I'd rather not live at all, than live 
by cheating." 

"And who taught you this?" asked the gentleman. 



2 2 BIBLE MODELS. 

" My mother, sir, before she died and went to heaven. 
And I am sure she would rather have me die, and 
come to her at last, an honest, upright boy, than live 
ever so well on money got by cheating." 

"You are right, my boy ; and you are a noble little 
fellow to remember such a mother's teachings." 

Now it happened that this gentleman, who was a 
merchant in business, was in want of money, and was 
just then being tempted to take some, that did not 
belong to him, in order to help himself out of trouble. 
But the plain, outspoken honesty of that little pin- 
pedlar, had such an effect on him, that he resisted the 
temptation, and, by God's blessing, got honestly out 
of his trouble. 

And, not long after, he sent for little Robbie, the pin- 
pedlar, and gave him a situation in his office, feeling sure 
that a boy who was so honest in pins and pennies, would 
be one to be trusted in more important matters. Robbie 
was engaged, first as an errand boy ; then as a clerk ; 
and at last was taken into the business as a partner. 

And thus, we see, that, when we speak by our 
actions, we speak plainly. And Abel was a model 
speaker, because by his life, or actions, he was a plain 
speaker. 

But Abel was a model speaker because he spoke by his 
actions — and this made him — a loud — speaker. 

Sometimes we meet with a person who has a voice 
that can be heard a long way off. Mr. Whitfield, the 
celebrated English preacher, had such a voice. When 
he was in Philadelphia, he preached from a high plat- 
form, at the foot of Market street, and, it is said, that 
while speaking there, the sound of his voice could be 



ABEL, THE MODEL SPEAKER. 23 

heard over in Camden, clear across die river Dela- 
ware, and more than a mile away from where he stood. 
But, when we speak by our actions, we speak louder 
than we ever can do by our words. There is Abel, 
speaking by the action he performed when he offered 
the sacrifice, which God had commanded, It was far 
away in the heart of Asia, that he spoke by that act ; 
and yet, we hear about it over in this western country. 
It is nearly six thousand years ago, that Abel spoke by 
that act, and still, "by it, he being dead, yet speakethy 
He spoke so loudly by that act, that, all round the 
world, wherever the Bible has gone, the voice of what 
he did has been heard. And, if we wish to speak so 
loudly, that we may be heard for a long time, and to a 
great distance, we must speak by our actions, by doing 
what God tells us to do. 

Here are some examples of the way in which 
actions speak. 

The Influence of Example. A gentleman met a 
friend, one Saturday, and invited him to dine with him 
the next day. "I should be very glad to do so," was 
the reply, "but to-morrow is the Sabbath, and I never 
dine out on that day." 

Some years afterwards, this same gentleman was 
traveling in a stage-coach. Directly opposite to him 
sat a person very attentively reading a book, which he 
saw was the Bible. When he looked up from his 
book, they recognized each other, though they had not 
met before, for a long time. Holding up the Bible he 
said, "I didn't think much of this blessed book once; 
but I have to thank you for leading me to examine it, 
and find out what a treasure it is." 



24 BIBLE MODELS. 

"Indeed?" said die other; "but I don't remember 
ever doing that." 

" Perhaps not," was the answer ; " but I once asked 
you to dine with me on the Sabbath. You declined 
very kindly, and said you never dined out on the Sab- 
bath. I was angry with you, and thought you were a 
fool. But your conduct led me to read the Bible. I 
had not been reading it long before I found out that / 
was the fool, for breaking God's commands. I saw 
that I was a sinner, and never rested till I found the 
Saviour, and became a Christian." 

That was a little act, but it spoke loudly to that care- 
less man, and proved a blessing to him forever. 

A Good Deed Rewarded. Not long ago there was a 
review of Austrian cavalry, before the Emperor and 
Empress, in one of the public squares in Vienna. Just 
as one of the squadrons swept out from the main body 
of thirty thousand horsemen, a little girl, only four 
years old, dashed from her mother's side, before the 
crowd, and ran out on the open field, just in front of 
the soldiers. The squadron was at full gallop. It was 
so close that to stop was impossible. It seemed as if 
the child must be crushed to death. A thrill of horror 
ran through the crowd, who saw the danger, but were 
unable to prevent it. The Empress saw it all from her 
carriage, and uttered a cry of terror, at the thought of 
the little one, about to be trampled to death. But, at 
the very moment that the squadron reached the child, 
a brave soldier, swung himself down from the saddle, 
holding on by the horse's mane, and catching the child 
as he swept on, lifted it, with himself, safely into the 
saddle, without slackening his speed, or losing his 



ABEL, THE MODEL SPEAKER. 25 

place in the ranks. The child was saved. Ten thou- 
sand voices raised a shout of joy. The Empress, and 
the child's mother, wept tears of grateful thanks. The 
Emperor summoned the noble soldier into his presence, 
and taking from his own breast, a richly ornamented 
diamond cross, hung it round the brave fellow's neck, 
and thanked him, before the crowd, for what he had 
done. 

That was a little act. It was done in a moment. 
But it speaks in a voice loud enough to be heard to 
the ends of the earth. 

A Duke Taught by the Act of a Boy. The Duke 
of St. Albans had long held an office, under the gov- 
ernment of England, which was called a sinecure. 
This means an office in which he had nothing to do, 
but for which he yet received a salary. He was led 
to give up this office by the honest act of a little farmer 
boy, who worked for him. The Duke was a great 
breeder of geese. He had a number of men and 
boys, whose duty it was to take care of these geese. 
On one occasion, the Duke was present, at the close 
of the week, when these persons were to receive their 
wages. Among the rest was a little boy, about ten 
years old. He had the charge of a flock of geese, 
and his wages, for taking care of them, were eighteen 
pence a week. But, when called up on this occasion, 
he refused to take his wages. 

When asked why he would not take them, he said: 
"Why ye see on Monday morning all the geese flied 
away; and how can I take money for looking arter 
birds when there was no birds to look arter?" 

This was a little act, but it spoke so loudly to the 



26 BIBLE MODELS. 

Duke, that it made him feel that it was a wrong for 
him to take money, for work, which he did not have 
to do ; and so he resigned his office. 

A Sailor s Act, and How Loudly it Spoke. A good 
many years ago an English man-of-war called the 
"Melville Castle" was commanded by a captain, whose 
name was James A. Haldane. On one occasion this 
vessel was fighting with a French frigate. In the 
course of the battle, the French vessel poured a broad- 
side into the "Melville Castle," which swept away all the 
men from the guns. The captain ordered a fresh sup- 
ply of men from below. As the men came on deck, 
and saw the mangled limbs, and bleeding bodies of 
their comrades, they shrank back for a moment, as if 
frightened. This made the captain very angry. He 
swore terrible oaths at them, and wished them all in 
the bad place. 

The brave English tars sprang to their guns, and 
soon gained the victory over their enemy. When the 
fight was over, one of the sailors, who was a pious 
man, and had been greatly shocked at the captain's 
oaths, went up to him, and taking off his cap, and 
making a bow, said very respectfully: "Please, sir, if 
God had heard your prayer a little while ago, where 
should we all be now ?" 

That was a little act, and a simple question con- 
nected with it. But it spoke in tones louder than 
thunder, to Captain Haldane. It roused his con- 
science. It led him to repentance. He became a 
Christian. He resigned his office in the navy, and 
became a minister, and, for more than fifty years, he 
was an earnest, faithful, and successful preacher of 



ABEL, THE MODEL SPEAKER. 2 J 

the gospel. Abel was a model speaker because his 
life, and action made him a loud speaker. 

And then again Abel was a model speaker, because, 
the action, by which he spoke, made him — an effectual 
speaker. 

The action of Abel, in offering his sacrifice, spoke 
very effectually to the apostle Paul. We see this 
clearly enough, from what he says about it in connec- 
tion with the words of our text. This was one thing 
that made him so earnest, in going all over the world, 
to preach the gospel. And, it was because he felt, so 
deeply, the importance of what Abel taught, when he 
offered his sacrifice, that he was determined not to 
"know anything among men, save Jesus Christ, and 
him crucified." And nothing that Abel could have 
said, by words, about the sacrifice of Christ, would 
have had so much effect, in making people feel the 
importance of that sacrifice, as his quiet action, in 
standing by his altar, and presenting on it, the sacri- 
fice which God had commanded to be offered. And, 
if we wish to speak effectually to those about us, we 
must speak by our actions. It is true, as a good min- 
ister in England once said, that — "we can do more 
good by being good, than in any other way." 

How Actions Speak. The president of one of the 
principal banks, in the city of Philadelphia, once asked 
a young man, who was one of his clerks, to come, and 
write letters for him, all day on Sunday. 

The young man said he would gladly sit up all 
night, and do anything else in his power, to oblige 
him ; but to work on Sunday was what he could not 



28 BIBLE MODELS. 

do, without breaking God's law, and therefore he 
begged to be excused from doing this. 

The president was angry with the young man, and 
dismissed him from the bank. With an aged mother, 
depending on him for support, he was thus thrown 
out of employment, rather than do what he felt was 
wrong. A few days after this, that president was 
asked to recommend an honest, and reliable man to 
be the cashier in another bank. He recommended 
this very young man. He mentioned this incident, in 
proof of his faithfulness. " I know you can trust him" 
he added: "for he gave up his situation rather than 
work for me on Sunday, because he thought it was 
wrong." 

No words, which that young man could have spoken, 
would have had such an effect on the president, as 
this action, in showing his regard for God's law. 

How Example Speaks. A good clergyman, in Eng- 
land, had a careless, idle son. He left his father's 
house, shipped on board a vessel, and sailed on a long 
voyage through the Pacific Ocean. His distressed 
parents grieved over him, and followed him with their 
prayers, and with good counsels in their letters. 

The ship, on which their boy was sailing, anchored, 
in the course of her voyage, in the harbor of one of 
the beautiful islands of the Pacific. They lay there, 
for some days, taking in cargo. In coming back from 
the island, one day, the sailors brought on board the 
ship, a little native boy, who could play some curious 
kinds of music. He amused them very much, for a 
long time. At last he asked them to please take him 
ashore again. The sailors said he must not go yet. 



ABEL, THE MODEL SPEAKER. 29 

"Oh! indeed I cannot stay any longer," said he, "and 
I'll tell you why. A good Christian missionary has 
come to the village where I live. From him I have 
learned all I know about Jesus Christ, in whom I wish 
now to believe. This is the hour when he meets us, 
under the shade of a tree, to tell us more about Jesus ; 
and I want to go and hear him." 

The sailors were quite touched with the earnestness 
of the boy, and at once rowed him ashore. But that 
thoughtless son, of the good minister, was particularly 
struck, by the conduct of this heathen boy. He could 
not get over it. It had a voice to him, that was more 
effectual, than any words^ he had ever listened to. 
"Here am I," he said to himself, "the son of a min- 
ister in England, knowing far more about Jesus Christ 
than this poor boy, and yet caring less about him! 
This little fellow is now earnestly listening to the 
Word of Life, while I am quite neglecting it." 

He went to his hammock that night, in great dis- 
tress of rnind. He wept bitter tears over his sins, 
and prayed to be forgiven. His prayer was heard, 
and answered. He soon became a Christian, and 
great was the joy in his English home, when the good 
news reached there, that their son who had been 
dead was alive again, and he who had been lost 
was found. How effectually that little South Sea 
islander spoke, to this minister's son, by his earnest 
conduct, in not letting anything keep him away from 
the meeting, where the gospel was to be preached! 
We speak effectually, when we speak by our actions. 

The Effect of a Boy s Conduct. An orphan boy, 
about twelve years old, was shipped as a cabin boy, 



30 BIBLE MODELS. 

on board a vessel sailing from Liverpool. It was in 
the winter time, when this took place. On board of 
this vessel the old custom prevailed of giving out 
grog to the sailors. Then the men would get to- 
gether, and have what they called "a jolly time," over 
their liquor. On one of those occasions, Jimmy, the 
cabin boy, was sent forward to the forecastle, on an 
errand. The men invited him to drink with them, but 
he declined. Then they began to laugh, and shout, 
and swear at him. They made so much noise that 
the captain, who was a drinking man himself, went 
forward to see what was the matter. When he found 
out how things stood, he said : "Youngster, you must 
obey orders on board this ship. Take some of that 
grog." 

"Please excuse me, sir, but I can't drink liquor." 

"Jack," said the captain, "take hold of that rope's 
end, and lay it on this obstinate chap, as hard as you 
can. I'll teach him that a sailor must learn to obey." 

Jack did as the captain told him. The little fellow 
bore it like a hero. When the flogging was over, the 
captain pointed again to the liquor, and said, "Now, 
drink that." 

"Please excuse me, sir, but I can't drink liquor," 
said Jimmy. This made the captain very angry : 
"Well, now," said he, "go up to the foretop, and stay 
there all night, without any supper. No one can dis- 
obey my orders on board this ship." 

Jimmy paused a moment, at the foot of the rigging. 
It looked dark, and dangerous up there, and he was 
not used to climbing. But up he went with a brave 
heart. 



ABEL, THE MODEL SPEAKER. 3 1 

When the captain was gone below, the first mate, 
who was fond of Jimmy, and was afraid he would per- 
ish from cold and hunger, took him up a blanket, and 
some biscuits, and spoke a few kind words to him. 

Early next morning the captain came on deck. He 
went forward, and sung out, "Halloo! there, young 
chap, come down this minute." 

But no one stirred, or answered. A sailor was sent 
up. He found the poor boy so overcome with cold, 
that he could neither stir, nor speak. He lifted him 
up in his arms, and took him down on deck. Then 
he was carried into the cabin, and laid down by the 
stove, that its warmth might bring him to. In the 
meantime the captain poured out a glass of wine, and 
set it down on the table. As soon as Jimmy was able 
to stand up, the captain pointed to the glass of wine 
and said : 

"Now, sir, drink that down this moment." 

"Please sir," exclaimed the boy, "I'd rather die than 
drink it. Oh, don't be angry with me sir, and I'll tell 
you why I can't do it. I was the only child of my 
parents. We used to live in a nice little cottage, and 
were very happy together. But, my father took to 
drinking, and soon everything changed. The furniture 
was sold for drink. The cottage was given up, and 
we had to live in a garret. My father died in a 
drunken spree. This broke my mother's heart. Be- 
fore she died she called me to her bedside, and said 
to me : 

"'Jimmy, my boy, you know what drink has done 
for your poor father, and for me. Now, I want you, 
before I die, as you hope to meet me in heaven, to 



32 BIBLE MODELS. 

promise me solemnly, here, before God, that, as long- 
as you live, you will never learn to drink intoxicating 
liquors.' 

"Then I lifted up my hand to God, and solemnly 
promised never to do it. And now, sir, would you 
have me break the promise that I made to my poor 
dying mother?" 

This was too much for the captain. He wept like 
a child, and taking the boy up in his arms, said : "No, 
no, my little hero. Keep your promise, and God bless 
you in doing so. And if any body ever says a word 
to you, about drinking, on board this ship, let me 
know, and they won't do it the second time." 

That brave boy was speaking effectually by his con- 
duct, in carrying out the promise he had made to his 
dying mother. 

And this was the way in which Abel spoke when he 
offered up his sacrifice. He was a model speaker in 
the matter of his speaking ; and in the manner of it. 
The matter of his speaking was the sacrifice of Christ ; 
the only thing that can make us good, and happy, and 
safe. In the manner of his speaking he was a plain 
speaker, a loud speaker, and an effectual speaker. 

Let us all follow the example of Abel. Let us learn 
to love and serve the blessed Saviour. Then we shall 
be model speakers too. By our lives and actions we 
shall be speaking for Jesus. This will make us, like 
Abel, to be plain speakers — loud speakers — effectual 
speakers. 



ENOCH, THE MODEL WALKER. 



l And Enoch walked with GodT — Genesis v:22. 




p^HIS is a short account to give of a life that 
was three hundred years long; but it is 
a very satisfactory account. 

We hear a great deal, in these days, 
about walking, and walkers. Men, and 
women too, spend days, and weeks, in walking 
matches. A sum of money is offered as a prize, and 
the one who proves the best walker gets the prize. I 
have no wish to join company with these walkers. But 
here, in our text, we have a grand old walker spoken 
of. I should like to join company with him ; yes, and 
I should like all my young friends to unite with me, 
in trying to take the walk which Enoch took. 

Enoch comes next, in our course of "Bible Models." 
He stands before us as "The Model Walker." What 
we are told about him is that — "Enoch walked with 
God." And the question we have to try and answer 
is this : — what sort of a walk is a walk with God ? 

And in answering this question there axzfour things, 
about this walk, of which we wish to speak. 



34 BIBLE MODELS. 

In the first place, if we walk with God, zue shall find 
that we have — a safe — walk. 

There are many places, in which people walk, that 
are very dangerous ; but if we are walking with God, 
as Enoch was, He will guard us from danger, and 
make the path in which we are walking — safe. Look, 
for a moment, at some of the things told us in the 
Bible, to show how safe we are, when we are walking 
with God. 

There was a time, in the life of. the patriarch 
Abraham, when he thought himself in great danger. 
And no doubt this was true. He had done some- 
thing which gave great offence to several very power- 
ful kings, who lived near him. . He had every rea- 
son to expect that they would raise a mighty army, 
and come against him, to destroy him. God knew 
just how Abraham was feeling, and He gave him this 
sweet promise for his comfort ; — 

"Fear not Abram, I am thy shield." Gen. xv: i. 
This must have been very cheering to Abraham. It 
was just what he needed. It was enough to take 
away all his fears. 

Before gun powder, and cannons were invented, 
shields were important, for those who engaged in war- 
fare. A shield was a good protection, from the stroke 
of a sword, or from the wound that an arrow would 
give. With a shield on his left arm, and a sword in 
his right hand, the soldier was ready for battle. But, 
even while holding his shield before him, he was not 
always safe. Over the top of his shield, or under the 
bottom of it, an arrow might reach him. Or it might 
strike him in the back, which the shield did not cover. 






BEHOLD, I STAND AT THE DOOR. AND KNOCK. 1 



36 BIBLE MODELS. 

But, when we have God for our shield, we are per- 
fectly safe. He will cover head, and feet, and face, 
and back, all at the same time. 

But sometimes an arrow would be sent with such 
force, as to go right through the shield, and wound 
severely the soldier behind it. This, however, can 
never happen, when God is our shield. He is a shield 
that never can be penetrated. 

Satan, our great enemy, tried this in the case of 
Job. He wanted to injure him in some way. But he 
could not do it. He found that God was such a shield 
to Job, that he could not get over it; nor under it; nor 
through it. Satan compared God's protection of Job 
to a hedge. He said God had put a hedge about Job, 
and about his house, and about everything he had. 
There are many hedges which it is very easy to jump 
over, or to push through. But, when God makes a 
hedge about those who wafk with Him, it is so high, 
that no one can get over it, and so thick that no one 
can get through it. We are perfectly safe behind this 
hedge. No one can touch us here, unless God shall 
give permission, as He did in Job's case, when He 
allowed Satan to bring troubles on Job, which were 
wisely overruled for good. 

In another place we find it said, of those who walk 
with God — that — "The eternal God is thy refuge, and 
underneath are the everlasting arms." Deut. xxxiii : 
27. How safe they are who have the eternal God for 
their refuge ! 

In several sweet passages of Scripture God says. 
He will uphold his people, and save them by his right 
hand. And in one place He promises to keep 



ENOCH, THE MODEL WALKER. ^ 

them "as the apple of his eye." No part of the 
body is so carefully protected as the eye. And this 
gives us a good illustration of the safety of those who 
walk with God. 

A Safe Walk. During a sudden freshet, a labor- 
ing man and his child, living in a cottage that stood 
by itself, were obliged to walk at midnight, for more 
than a mile through water reaching to the little boy's 
waist, before they could reach a place of safety. 

After they had changed their clothes, and were feel- 
ing comfortable, the friend, in whose cottage they had 
found shelter, said to the little boy: "And wasn't you 
afraid Jack, while walking through the water?" 

"No, not at all," said the little fellow, who was but 
seven years old: "I was walking along with father, 
you know. And I knew he wouldn't let the water 
drown me." This was very sweet. And, if, like 
Enoch, we are walking with God, let us remember 
that we are walking with our heavenly Father. And 
He promises us expressly, "When thou passest 
through the waters, they shall not overflow thee." 
Isaiah xliii : 2. 

Here is a good illustration of the safety of those 
who are walking with God. 

Hidden and Safe. One morning a teacher found 
many empty seats, in her school-room. Two little 
scholars lay dead at their homes, and others were sick. 
The few children present gathered around her, and 
said, "Oh! what shall we do?" Do you think we shall 
be sick, and die too?" 

The teacher gently touched the bell, and said, "Chil- 
dren, you are all afraid of this disease. You grieve 



38 BIBLE MODELS. 

for the death of your little friends, and you fear that 
you also may be taken. I only know of one thing 
for us to do, and that is to hide. Listen while I read 
to you about a hiding place. Then she read the 91st 
Psalm; which begins thus: "He that dwelleth in the 
secret place of the Most High, shall abide under the 
shadow of the Almighty." They were all hushed by 
the sweet words, and then the morning lesson went 
on as usual. 

At recess, a dear little girl came up to the desk, 
and said, "Teacher aren't you afraid of the dipthe- 



na 



?» 



"No, my child," she answered. 

"Well, wouldn't you be, if you thought you would 
be sick, and die?" 

"No, dear, I trust not." 

The child gazed wonderingly at her for a moment ; 
and then, her face lightened up as she said, "Oh! I 
know! You are hidden under God's wings. What a 
nice safe place that is to hide in !" 

Walking with God is a safe walk. But in the second 
place, — walking with God is — a useful — walk. 

Suppose that you and I were taking a walk through 
the wards of a hospital. It is full of people, who are 
suffering from accidents, arid diseases of different 
kinds. There are some people there with broken 
limbs. Some are blind, — others are deaf; and some 
are sick with various fevers, and consumption. And 
suppose, that like our blessed Lord, we had the power, 
as we went from one bed to another, to heal the sick, 
and suffering people, in that hospital. Here is a lame 
man. We make his limbs straight, and strong so that 




JESUS RESTORES LIFE TO THE DEAD. 



4<D BIBLE MODELS. 

he can walk. Here is a blind man. We touch his 
eyes with our fingers ; they open, and he can see. We 
speak to those who are suffering from diseases of dif- 
ferent kinds, and make them well. Then we might 
well say, that our walk through that hospital was a 
useful walk. 

But, we have no such power as this, to cure the dis- 
eases from which the bodies of men are suffering. 
Yet this may afford us a good illustration of what we 
can do for the souls that are suffering around us, 
when we become Christians, and walk with God. This 
world is like a hospital. It is full of souls suffering, 
in various ways, from the evils which sin has brought 
upon them. The truth of the gospel is God's great 
cure for all these evils. David teaches us this when 
he says that — "He sent his word and healed them." 
Ps. 107 : 20. And Jesus was referring to this when 
he said: "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wil- 
derness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 
that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but 
have everlasting life." John iii : 14, 15. Moses never 
did a more useful thing, in all his life, that when he 
lifted up that serpent of brass, upon the pole, so that 
all the people, who had been bitten by those fiery ser- 
pents, and who were suffering, and dying from the 
'bite, might look to that up-lifted serpent, and live. 
And when we walk with God, as his loving children, 
and servants, by our words, as well by our -actions, 
we are helping to "lift up the Son of Man," or to 
make Jesus known to those around us. This is the 
only thing that can heal the souls that have been 
bitten by the serpent sin, and make them well and 



ENOCH, THE MODEL WALKER. 



41 



happy. And if we can do anything like this, by walk- 
ing with God, it must make that a very useful walk. 
Let us look at some of the ways in which this may be 
done. 

Bless and Curse Not. A little girl about seven years 
old was trying to be a Christian, and walk with God. 
She used to commit a verse of Scripture to memory 
every morning, and come and repeat it to her mother, 
before she went to school. Her father was a very 
wicked man. One morning he was swearing dread- 
fully, at his wife, when little Sallie came in, and said — 
" Mamma, I know my text. Please let me say it, and 
go to school." 

"What is the text, my dear?" said the mother, 
wishing to keep the child from hearing the terrible 
oaths from her father. 

"Bless, and curse not," were the words of the text. 
As she spoke them, she put up her little rosy lips to 
her father for a kiss. 

The tears came into his eyes, as the little darling 
turned away from him. But he could not forget the 
words he had heard. Wherever he went, — "Bless 
and curse not," rang in his ears. He became a 
changed man. Words of cursing were no longer 
heard from his lips. That little girl was trying to 
walk with God, and we see how useful her walk 
was. 

A Little Act Useful. Not long ago, a Christian 
gentleman, who was trying to do good wherever he 
went, stepped into a passenger car in the city of New 
York. Before taking his seat, he gave to each pas- 
senger, a little illuminated card, on which were printed 



42 BIBLE MODELS. 

these words, — "Look to Jesus when tempted — when 
troubled — when dying." 

One of the passengers carefully read the card, and 
then put it in his pocket. As he left the car he said 
to the gentleman who had distributed the cards : "Sir, 
when you gave me this card I was on my way to the 
ferry, intending to jump from the boat, and drown 
myself. The death of my wife and son had robbed 
me of all desire to live. But this card has led me to 
change my mind. I am going to begin, and try to 
lead a better life. Good day, and may God bless 
you." This is a real fact. It happened on board one 
of the Fulton Ferry cars, in March, 1878. 

The gentleman who gave those cards was making 
his walk with God a useful walk. 

The Good Done by SJiaking a Finger. I knew a 
good Christian gentleman, some years ago, who taught 
a young men's Bible class in Philadelphia. One day, 
as he was going along, near the corner of Third and 
Dock street, he saw one of the members of his class, 
— a young man named George Dawson, — coming out 
of a drinking saloon. He raised his finder, and shak- 
ing it gently at him, said in a kind and loving way, — 
"Take care, George ! Take care !" 

Not lonor after George left his home, and settled out 
in the West. Years passed away, and the teacher had 
forgotten all about him. One day, in walking down 
Chestnut street, a good looking gentleman came up, 
and taking him warmly by the hand, said: "How do 
you do, Mr. P. ? Don't you remember one of your 
old class?" 

"Indeed, sir, I can't remember you ?" 



ENOCH, THE MODEL WALKER. 43 

"Don't you remember shaking your finger, at 
George Dawson, a member of your class, as you saw 
him, coming out of a drinking saloon, and saying — 
"Take care, George?" 

"Oh ! yes ; I remember that." 

"Well, sir, I am George. And thank you for that 
kind warning, and that friendly shake of the finger. 
I was just beginning to learn to drink. But, by God's 
blessing, that saved me. When I settled out West, I 
remembered your teaching in the class. That led me 
to become a Christian. Now I am a successful mer- 
chant, a member of church, and the superintendent 
of a Sabbath School. And, under God, I owe it all 
to you, sir." 

Certainly that gentleman's walk with God, was a 
useful walk. 

One other illustration of this point. 

Some years ago, a gentleman from England, brought 
a letter of introduction, to a merchant in this country. 
The stranger was an intelligent man, with very plea- 
sant manners, but he was an infidel. The gentleman 
to whom he brought the letter of introduction, and his 
wife, were earnest Christian people. They invited the 
stranger to make their house his home, during his 
stay, and treated him with the greatest possible kind- 
ness. On the evening of his arrival, before the hour 
of retiring, the gentleman of the house, knowing what 
the views of his guest were, on the subject of religion, 
told him they were in the habit of having family 
worship every evening ; that they would be happy to 
have him join with them ; or if he preferred he could 
retire to his room. He said it would give him plea- 



44 BIBLE MODELS. 

sure to remain. Then a chapter of the Bible was 
read, and the family knelt in prayer, the stranger with 
them. After spending a few days, in that pleasant 
Christian home, the stranger embarked on board a 
ship, and sailed to a foreign land. In the course of 
three or four years he returned, and stayed with the 
same family. But what a change there was in him ! 
His infidelity was all gone. He was now an humble, 
earnest Christian. In speaking to his friend of this 
change, he said: "Sir, I owe it all to you. When I 
knelt down with you, at family prayers, on my for- 
mer visit, it was the first time, for years, that I had 
ever bowed my knees before God. It brought back 
to me the memory of my pious mother, now in heaven, 
and all the teaching she had given me, when a boy. 
I was so occupied with these thoughts, that I did not 
hear a word of your prayer. But this led me to give 
up my infidelity, and seek the blessing of my mother's 
God. And now, I am as happy as the day is long, in 
his service." 

Here again we see how true it is, that walking with 
God is a useful walk. 

In the third place walking with God is — a pleasant 
— walk. 

When we are taking a walk, there are several things, 
that will help to make up the pleasure, to be found in 
that walk. If we have a guide to show us the road ; 
if we have a pleasant companion, to talk with, as we 
go on our way ; if we have plenty of refreshments, — 
nice things to eat and drink ; if there are bright and 
cheerful prospects, around and before us ; and espe- 
cially, if we are sure of a nice comfortable home, to 



46 BIBLE MODELS. 

rest in, when our walk is ended, these will help to 
make it pleasant, 

But when we walk with God, as Enoch did, we have 
all these things, and more too. And these are sure to 
make it a pleasant walk. Solomon is speaking of this 
walk when he says: "Its ways are ways of pleasant- 
ness and all its paths are peace." But if you wish to 
know all about the journey through some particular 
country, there is no better way of finding this out, than 
by asking those who have made the journey, what 
they have to say about it. And this is what we may 
do here. Let us see what some of those who have 
walked with God, have to say about the pleasantness 
of this walk. 

Living Alone. "I visited a poor old woman belong- 
ing, to my congregation," said a minister. " She was 
entirely dependent on the church for her support. 
Her home was a very small cottage. The moment 
I entered it, I saw how neat and clean everything was. 
She had just been gathering some sticks, from the 
lane, with which to cook her evening meal. Her face 
was one of the sweetest, I ever saw. It was sur- 
rounded by the strings of her snow white cap. On 
the table lay a well-worn copy of the word of God. I 
looked around for a daughter, or friend, to be her 
companion, and care-taker ; but saw none. I said : 
"Mother Ansel, you don't live here alone, do you ?" 

" Live alone ! Live alone !" she exclaimed in sur- 
prise, and then, as a sweet smile lighted up her face, 
she added, "No, sir, the blessed Lord lives with me, 
and that makes it pleasant living !" Certainly she 
found walking with God a pleasant walk. 



ENOCH, THE MODEL WALKER. 47 

The Best Sunshine. A Christian lady was visiting 
among the poor one day. She called, among others, 
on a little sick girl. Her home was a dreary looking 
one. The room she occupied was on the north side 
of the house. There was nothing bright, or pleasant 
about it. Everything looked dark and cheerless. 

"I am sorry you have no sun on this side of the 
house," said the lady. "Not a ray of sunshine gets 
in here. This is a misfortune, for sunshine is every- 
thing." 

"Oh, ma'am, you are mistaken," said the sick girl, 
as a sweet smile lighted up her pale face. " My sun 
pours in at every window, and through all the cracks." 

" But how can the sun get round on this side of the 
house?" asked the visitor. 

"It is Jesus, ' the Sun of Righteousness ' that shines 
in here," was the reply, il znd He makes the best sun- 
shine." 

That sick girl found walking with God a pleasant 
walk. 

Strong Faith, or Light in Darkness. A young min- 
ister, in the South, tells this story, which beautifully 
illustrates the point now before us. 

Among the negroes on one of the plantations, in 
my parish, was a woman whom we used to call Aunt 
Dossy. She was a good Christian, who walked with 
God, and had the most simple, child-like faith, that I 
ever met with in any one. She had a husband, and 
a family of six sons, of whom she was very proud. 
Several were old enough to help their father in the 
cotton field, and she was never tired of talking about 
her boys. 



48 BIBLE MODELS. 

A fatal disease broke out among the negroes, and 
in one short week Aunt Dossy lost her husband, and 
all her six children. Her heart was bound up in her 
boys, and I expected that this heavy stroke would be 
too much for her. One day, not long after this, I 
thought I would walk around to her cabin, and try to 
comfort her. 

1 found her sitting on the door-step, holding in her 
hand something that had belonged to one of her boys. 
She gazed at it earnestly, swaying backwards and for- 
wards, as she kept saying to herself, "Nebber mind, 
honey, de Lord'll make it all straight." 

Wishing to try her faith I said, "Aunt Dossy are 
you sure of that?" 

She looked up, with her poor old eyes full of tears, 
and said: "Yes, massa, just so suah as dat de dead 
are gone." 

"What makes you so sure?" I asked. 

"De good Lord himself says so in de book dey 
reads at meetin, ebery day." 

"But how do you know the book is true ? 

This seemed to stagger her for a moment ; but sud- 
denly she exclaimed : — 

"Don't de Lord tell it outside him book too? Don't 
de grass, de flowers, and de birds, and de bees talk 
it? And fardermore me feels it myar" — smiting her 
breast. "Ah! massa, you's got heaps o' larnin; you 
knows heaps moren' poor old Dossy — but Dossy 
knows de Lord's on her side, and He's gwine to help 
her bear it. He ain't a gwine to leab her now, when 
de troubles come upon her." 

Then she went on again talking to herself, as she 



ENOCH, THE MODEL WALKER. 49 

was doing before — "Neber mind, honey, de Lord'll 
make it all straight." 

How beautiful this simple faith was in that poor 
afflicted widow! She was feeling the truth of what 
David meant, when he said : — 

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the 
shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with 
me." And if walking with God brings such help and 
comfort in trouble, as this old negro had, we may well 
say it is a pleasant walk. 

And here let me quote some sweet lines called — 
"A Little Talk with Jesus," which show us how it is 
that walking with God is made so pleasant : 

" A little talk with Jesus, how it smooths the rugged road : 
How it seems to help me onward, when I sink beneath my load ; 
When my head is bowed with sorrow, and my eyes with tears are 

dim, 
There's nought can yield me comfort like a little talk with Him. 

" I tell Him I am weary, and fain would be at rest, 
That I'm daily, hourly longing for a home upon His breast ; 
And He answers me so sweetly, in tones of tenderest love, 
' I'm coming soon to take thee, to thy happy home above.' 

" Ah ! this is what I'm wanting, His loving face to see, 
And (I'm not afraid to say it), I know He's wanting me ; 
He gave His life a ransom, to make me all His own, 
And I can't forget His promise, to me His purchased one. 

" I know the way is dreary, to yonder far off clime, 
But a little talk with Jesus, will while away the time ; 
And yet the more I know Him, and all His grace explore, 
It only sets me longing to know Him more and more. 
4 



50 BIBLE MODELS. 

" I cannot live without Him, nor would I if I could ; 
He is my daily portion, my medicine and my food ; 
He's altogether lovely, none can with Him compare, 
The chief among ten thousand, the fairest of the fair. 

" So I'll wait a little longer, till His appointed time, 
And glory in the knowledge, that such a hope is mine ; 
Then in my Father's dwelling, where 'many mansions be,' 
I'll sweetly talk with Jesus, and He will talk with me." 

Walking with God is a pleasant walk. 

But in the fourth place, walking with God is — a 

PROFITABLE Walk. 

We see a good deal of walking done without much 
profit. But sometimes we hear of people who are 
able to make their walking pay. There was a walk- 
ing match in New York years ago. A number of 
persons were engaged in it, and the man who won 
the prize secured twenty-five thousand dollars. That 
was profitable walking, so far as money was con- 
cerned, but, walking with God, is more profitable 
than this. 

Suppose there was a Savings Bank, half a mile from 
your house, and you are told that if you walked to 
that bank every week, and put a penny in the trea- 
sury; for every penny you put in, you would get a 
dollar, at the end of the year. A penny a week would 
make fifty-two pennies by the end of the year, and if 
for these fifty-two pennies you were to receive fifty-two 
dollars, that would make your walk to the bank pro- 
fitable walking. It would be getting what we call a 
hundred-fold for the money invested there. 

There is no such Savings Bank as this. But, when 
we learn to walk with God, we find that serving Him, 



ENOCH, THE MODEL WALKER. 5 1 

is just like putting money in such a bank. Jesus says 
that if we give a cup of cold water to one of His dis- 
ciples ; or if we suffer for Him, or do any work for 
Him; we "shall receive a manifold more, in this pres- 
ent time, and in the world to come, life everlasting." 

And if such rewards are given, to those who walk 
with Him, then, we may well say, that that is profitable 
walking. 

Here are some examples, of the profit found in 
walking with God. 

Two Strings. An infidel was one day laughing, at 
a plain farmer, because he believed the Bible. The 
farmer surprised him by saying, "Well, you see we 
plain country people, like to have two strings to our 
bow." 

"And pray what do you mean by that?" asked the 
infidel. 

"Only this," was the farmer's answer, "that believ- 
ing the Bible, and acting up to it, is like having two 
strings to one's bow; for, if the Bible is not true, 
still, I shall be a better and happier man, for living 
according to its teachings, and so it will be profitable 
for me in this life ; this is one string to my bow, and a 
good one too. And, if the Bible should prove true, 
as / know it will, it will be profitable for me, in the 
next world, and that is another string, and a pretty 
strong one too. But, sir, if you do not believe the 
Bible, and do not live as it requires, you have no 
string to your bow in this world. And, oh ! sir, if the 
tremendous threatenings of the Bible prove true, as 
they surely will, — you will have no string to your bow, 
for the next world, and what will become of you then?" 



52 BIBLE MODELS. 

This shows us that walking with God, is profitable 
walking. 

Please Help Me. Little Johnny was only four years 
old, but he was trying to be a Christian, and walk 
with God, and he found profit in it. One day he was 
busy in the sunny corner of the nursery, trying to 
build up a castle, with his blocks. Just as the last 
block was being put to the tower, to finish it, it all 
came tumbling down, with a crash. Johnny gazed a 
moment at the ruins, with a look of disappointment, 
and then folding his little hands, devoutly said, " Dear 
Lord, please help me." Then he went to building 
his castle again. But as he was finishing it, down 
it tumbled, the second time. Hot tears came into 
Johnny's eyes ; but quickly dashing them away with the 
back of his hand, he kneeled down, over the ruins of 
his fallen building, and lifting up his eyes to heaven 
quietly said, "Please, Lord, help me to build, so it 
won't tumble down ; and please don't let me get mad, 
for Jesus' sake, Amen." Then he went to work again, 
and built his castle so that it didn't tumble down. 
That little Johnny is now a big "John." He is going 
through college, and he finds help now, just as he did 
then. He is walking in a way that helps him to con- 
quer difficulties, and, above all, helps him to conquer 
himself, and this is a profitable way to walk in. 

The Profit of Giving. Some years ago, a Christian 
gentleman, who was walking with God, and was very 
well off, made up his mind that he would give as much 
money as he could every year to the Bible Society. 
The first year he gave a hundred dollars. The year 
after, he gave a thousand dollars. He went on in- 



ENOCH, THE MODEL WALKER. 53 

creasing his gift, every year, until it amounted to 
twenty thousand dollars a year. When some one 
asked him how he could afford to give so much, his 
answer was — "I am richer now, than when I first 
began to give. I don't know how it is, but I find that 
the more I give, the more I get." 

This is just what the Bible teaches us, when it says: 
"Give, and it shall be given unto you." This shows 
us that walking with God is a profitable walk. 

The Power of Example. In a town in Bavaria 
there was a little old-fashioned church. Among those 
who were in the habit of worshipping there, was a 
certain duke, living in the neighborhood. He was a 
good Christian man, who was humbly walking with 
God. On coming out of church, he was in the habit 
of talking, in a friendly way, with any of the peasants 
he might happen to meet with. 

One day, he met an old man. They talked to- 
gether, about different things. The duke felt inte- 
rested in the old man, and before parting from him, 
asked if he could do anything for him. 

"Noble sir," said the peasant, "you cannot do any- 
thing better for me than you have already done." 

"How is that?" asked the duke. "I didn't know 
that I ever did anything for you." 

" But I know it," said the old man, "and never can 
forget it, for you saved my son. He had got to be a 
very bad young fellow. For a long time he had given 
up reading his Bible, or going to church. Every day 
he was getting worse and worse. It almost broke my 
heart to think of him. One day, in passing by this 
dear old church, he saw you going in. He said to 



54 



BIBLE MODELS. 



himself, — 'I should like to see what the duke does 
there.' He went quietly in, and sat down to watch 
you. But when he saw you praying so earnestly, and 
devoutly, it made a deep impression on him. It led 
him to pray himself. He broke off from his evil ways; 
and now, he is the comfort and joy of my life. I 
thank you, sir, for this. And this is what I meant 
when I said you never can do me a greater favor than 
you have done for me already." 

That good duke was walking with God, and when 
we think how much good he was doing, by the quiet 
influence of his example, we see what profit there is 
in this walk. 

We Have God Too. Some time ago, a young min- 
ister took charge of a small church, in a country town, 
in the State of New York. 

On eoinof round, to visit the members of his con- 
gregation, he was asked to call and see an aged widow 
woman, who was a member of the church. She was 
both poor and blind. On stopping at the door of her 
humble cottage, one day, he heard some one speak- 
ing within, in a low voice. He found it was the voice 
of prayer. He waited till the prayer was ended. 
Then he went in, and made himself known to the 
blind widow. "How are you, my good friend?" was 
his first inquiry. 

With tears of gratitude streaming from her blind 
eyes, she said, "Thank God I am very well." 

After talking with her for sometime, he asked if 
there was anything he could do for her. She said if 
he could send her a loaf of bread, she would feel 
very much obliged to him, for she added, "we have 




WHOSOEVER RECErVETH ONE LITTLE CHILD IN MY NAME RECEIVETH ME. 



56 BIBLE MODELS. 

not had a morsel of solid food in the house for three 
days." 

"Why, my friend," asked the astonished minister, 
"how is it that you are alive?" 

"God is very good to the poor," she said. "The 
woods are full of huckleberries, and my two little 
grandchildren gather them. Our cow gives us milk : 
so we have milk and huckleberries ; and we have God 
too." 

This was beautiful. "We have God too!" No 
matter how little of this world's goods we have, if we 
can only say: "we have God too ;" we are better off 
than if we had thousands of gold and silver without 
Him. This was what the good poet Cowper meant, 
when he looked up to God, and said : 

"Give what Thou canst, without Thee, we are poor, 
And with Thee rich, take what Thou wilt away." 

When we are walking with God we can always say 
this ; and it is this which makes such a walk profitable. 

Enoch was a model walker, because he "walked 
with God." Let us all try to follow his example, and 
we shall find that walking with God, is a safe walk ; — a 
useful walk ; — a pleasant walk ; — and a. profitable walk. 



NOAH, THE MODEL WORKER. 



" Thus did Noah: according to all that God com- 
manded him, so did hey — Genesis vi : 22. 




>HEN a young man wants to be a painter, 
or a sculptor it is very important for 
him to have the opportunity of studying 
the best works of the most celebrated 
artists. And to do this, he will, if it be 
possible for him, go to Europe and finish his studies 
there. In London, in Paris, in Florence, in Rome, 
and other famous cities, there are large galleries, 
filled with the finest paintings, and pieces of statu- 
ary. These are the works of what are called "the 
old masters." The young artist must study these very 
carefully, if he wants to be successful as a painter, or 
a sculptor. He will take these as his models, and 
try to imitate them. 

But God is the greatest, and best of all artists. 
None can make such splendid pictures, or such forms 
of beauty as He makes. And the Bible may well 
be called God's picture gallery. It is filled with the 
best models, of good characters, that can be found 



58 BIBLE MODELS. 

anywhere. In this course of sermons on "Bible 
Models," we are, as it were, taking a walk through 
this gallery. We are taking up, one after another, 
the different examples of piety, and goodness, that are 
found here. We are setting them before us, that we 
may carefully study them, and then try to imitate 
them. 

In our present sermon we take up the character 
of Noah. We may consider him as — "The Model 
Worker." In our text, what we read of him is thus 
expressed: "Thus did Noah: according to all that God 
commanded him, so did he." And in setting his ex- 
ample before us, as a model worker, we may notice 
five things about his way of working, in which we 
may well try to imitate him. 

In the first place Noah was — a ready — worker. 
And in this respect he is a good model to set be- 
fore us. 

It was a very hard thing that Noah was commanded 
to do. He was told to build an ark, or a ship, that 
was very remarkable for its size. Nothing like it had 
ever been heard of before. Its length was to be four 
hundred and fifty feet ; its breadth seventy-five feet, 
and its height forty-five feet. This was much larger 
than any of our ordinary ships of war. 

But Noah was not a ship-builder himself, neither 
were his sons. He did not live in a sea-port town, 
where the people were familiar with the business of 
building ships. He lived in an inland country, far 
away from the sea. We do not know that he, or any 
one else then living in the world, had ever seen a 
large ship. No doubt they had canoes, and other 




NOAH BUILDS THE ARK. 



60 BIBLE MODELS. 

small boats for crossing the rivers. But we have 
no reason to suppose that any vessels larger than 
these had ever been built. And this must have made 
the work that Noah was told to do, very hard indeed. 
How easy it would have been for him to make excuses 
when God commanded him to build that huge ark ! 
He might have said, very truthfully: "1 do not know 
anything about the work of building ships. I have no 
ship carpenters to help me, and know not where to get 
any." 

And if, for reasons like these, he had bepfSfed to be 
excused, from undertaking a work of so much dif- 
ficulty, it would not have been at all surprising. But 
Noah did nothing of the kind. He did not make the 
slightest objection. Instead of this he went out to 
work at once. No doubt he asked God to help him. 
And when we get such help as He can give, nothing 
can be too hard for us. The apostle believed this 
fully, when he said: "I can do all things through 
Christ which strengtheneth me." And when we re- 
member how readily Noah went to work, to do the hard 
thing that God had commanded him to do, we may 
well speak of him as a model worker. 

He is a model, worthy of our imitation, because he 
was — a ready — worker. 

And it is always pleasant to see those who follow 
Noah's example, and do the work they have to do in 
the same ready way. Here is a good illustration of 
what I mean. 

A Sensible Boy. George Harris was a bright, intel- 
ligent boy, about thirteen years of age. One day he 
was sitting on the porch, in front of his house, read- 



NOAH, THE MODEL WORKER. 6l 

ing one of those yellow-covered novels, that do so 
much harm to all who read them. His father came 
up at that moment, and was sorry to see how George 
was occupied. 

"What are you reading, George?" he asked. 

The little fellow felt ashamed, as he looked up ; but 
he gave the name of the book. "I am sorry to see 
you reading such a book," said Mr. Harris. "I have 
known many persons injured by reading books of 
that kind ; but I never knew any one benefitted by 
them." 

This was all he said ; and then he went into the 
house. Not long after he saw a light in the next room 
to that in which he was sitting. 

Going to the door of the room he saw George tear- 
ing up, and burning a book. 

"What are you doing, my son ?" he asked. 

"I am burning up the book you told me not to read." 

"And what are you doing that for?" 

"Because I am sure you know better than I do, 
about it." 

George was following the example of Noah, as a 
ready worker. 

Here are some simple lines, which come in very 
nicely, to wind up this point of our subject. They 
are headed — Just Obey. 

"Do as you are told to do 
By those wiser far than you ; 
Do not say, 
' What the use of this may be 
I am sure I cannot see : ' 
Just obey ! 



62 BIBLE MODELS. 

" Do not sulk, and do not sigh, 
Though it seem in vain to try ; 

Work away ! 
All the ends you cannot see : 
Do your duty faithfully — 
Just obey ! 

" When at length you come to know 
Why 'twas ordered thus and so, 
You will say, 
' Glad am I that when to me 
All was dark as dark could be, 
I could trust, and cheerfully,' 
Just obey." 

Noah was a model worker because he was a ready 
worker. 

But, in the second place, Noah was a model worker \ 
becatise he was — a persevering — worker. 

If we have anything hard to do, or anything that 
will take a long time in which to do it, we never can 
succeed in doing it without perseverance. The mean- 
ing of this word, perseverance, is to keep on trying with 
a thing until we get through. And no one ever had 
so much need of perseverance as Noah had, in the 
work he was told to do. From the day when God 
first spoke to him, about building the ark, until it was 
finished, — one hundred and twenty years passed away. 
All that time he was engaged in the work. And he 
knew, at the beginning, how long it would take him. 

We often beg-in to do thing-s without knowing at all 
how long it will take us to get through with them. 
But God told Noah distinctly how long it would be, 
from the time when he began to build the ark, until 
the flood should come, which was to destroy the earth. 



NOAH, THE MODEL WORKER. 63 

We see this in Genesis vi : 3, when it says — man's 
"days shall be an hundred and twenty years." 

How strangely Noah must have felt when he laid 
the first piece of timber in the keel of the ark, and 
knew how many years were to pass away before that 
great vessel would be completed ! 

We read of men who have become famous, by the 
discoveries, or inventions they have made, such as 
the art of printing, the use of steam-engines, and other 
things. Some of these men were working away for 
seven, or ten, or fifteen, or twenty years, before they 
finished their work. And when we read about the 
difficulties they had to overcome, before they suc- 
ceeded in what they were trying to do, and how 
they persevered in overcoming these difficulties, we 
cannot but wonder at them. And yet, how short the 
time was in which they did their work, compared with 
the hundred and twenty years, through which Noah 
had to go on laboring ! His perseverance was the 
most wonderful ever heard of in the history of our 
world. 

How much trouble he must have had, in getting the 
right kind of wood, with which to build the ark ! And 
when the wood was found, how much trouble he must 
have had in getting the right sort of workmen, to 
carry on the building ! And how many other diffi- 
culties he must have had, of which no account is 
given ! But, notwithstanding all these difficulties, he 
went patiently on, for a hundred and twenty years, 
till his work was done. How well we may speak of 
Noah as a model of perseverance ! 

Let us study this model, till we learn to persevere, 



64 BIBLE MODELS. 

in all the work we try to do, for God, or for our fellow 
men. 

Here are some other illustrations of perseverance, 
that may help us in trying to learn this lesson. 

The Shovel and the Snow-Drift. After a great 
snow-storm, a little fellow, about seven or eight years 
old, was trying to make a path through a large snow- 
bank, which had drifted before his grandmother's 
door. A gentleman, who was passing by, was struck 
with the earnestness with which he was doing his 
work. He stopped to look at him for a moment, and 
then said : 

"My little man, how do you ever expect to get 
through that great snow-bank?" 

In a cheerful tone, and without stopping at all in 
his work, the little fellow's reply was : 

"By keeping at it, sir. That's how." 

"By keeping at it," Noah was able to get through 
with the great work he had to do. And it is only — 
"By keeping at it," that we can expect to succeed in 
any good work in which we may be engaged. 

Here is a story of a soldier's perseverance, and 
of the good that came from it. We may call it — 
Perseverance in Prayer. 

A soldier, who was led to become a Christian, by 
what he saw of the example of a fellow soldier, gives 
his account of it thus : 

"A new man had joined our company. He was 
to occupy one of the cots, in the same room with me 
in the barracks. The first night he was there, before 
going to bed, he kneeled down by his bedside to pray. 
And such a scene as then took place ! While he was 




THE ARK IS FINISHED. 



66 BIBLE MODELS. 

on his knees, some of the men threw their belts at 
him ; some laughed, some whistled, some swore. 
One man leaped over a bed, and came and shouted 
in his ears; but still the new comer went on till he 
was through with his prayers. On the second night 
all the men were on the look out, to see whether he 
would kneel down again. But he did kneel, as on the 
previous night. The moment he did this, the noise 
and confusion were worse than before. The men 
shouted, and screamed, and made the most horrible 
noises. But the man of persevering piety went on 
with his prayers. On the third night when he began 
to pray there was less noise than on the second night. 
On the fourth and fifth nights, as he persevered in his 
prayers, the noise grew less and less. On the sixth 
night as soon as he had kneeled down, one of the 
men, who had been the most active in the disturbance, 
cried out to his companions: T say, boys, he's genu- 
ine ; he stands fire. We'll let him alone.' 

"After that he had no more trouble. The men 
respected him ; and some of them, who never had 
courage to do so before, followed his example and 
kneeled down to say their prayers." 

Stroke on Stroke. James Barker was a farmer's 
boy about twelve years old. One day his father gave 
him an axe, and told him to cut down an old tree, 
which stood in front of their house. He went to work 
on the tree, but his blows made little impression on it. 
By and by he got discouraged, and sat down on a log 
to rest. "It's no use," said he in a doleful sort of way. 

"What's no use?" asked an old wood-chopper, who 
was just then passing by. 



NOAH, THE MODEL WORKER. 6 7 

" Why for me to try to cut down this tree." 
" Nonsense ! my boy, you can do it. Just keep at 
it. Stroke on stroke will cut down the biggest tree 
that ever grew. Don't expect to cut it down with one 
blow. Remember stroke on stroke." 

This is an important lesson to learn. It was by 
"stroke on stroke" that Noah built the ark. With 
God's blessing we shall always succeed by "stroke on 
stroke." 

LITTLE BY LITTLE. 

"Little by little the time goes by — 
Short if you sing through it, long if you sigh ; 
Little by little — an hour, a day, 
Gone with the years that have vanished away; 
Little by little the race is run, 
Trouble, and waiting, and toil are done ! 

" Little by little the skies grow clear ; 
Little by little the sun comes near ; 
Little by little the days smile out, 
Gladder and brighter with pain and doubt ; 
Little by little the seed we sow 
Into a plentiful harvest will grow. ' ' 

Noah was a model worker because he was a per- 
severing worker. 

But, in the third place, Noah was a model worker, be- 
cause he was — a thorough — worker. 

We see this in our text, when it tells us — "Thus did 
Noah ; according to all that God commanded him, so 
did he." 

Some people are willing to obey God just so long 
as He tells them to do what they like to do. But 
if He commands them to do anything that is disa- 



68 BIBLE MODELS. 

greeable, they are not willing to obey Him. But 
this was not the way in which Noah obeyed God. We 
cannot doubt, for a moment, but that in the great 
work of building the ark, there were many things he 
had to do, which were very disagreeable to him. But 
this made no difference with Noah. The question 
with him was not, is this, or that, or the other thing, 
which I am doing, pleasant to me? is it what I like to 
do? No; but it was — is this what God has told me 
to do? If it was — he did it. "All that God com- 
manded him he did." 

And it is very important for us to follow the ex- 
ample of Noah in this respect, because this is the only 
kind of service that God will accept. It was what 
David taught us when he said, "Then shall I not be 
ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy command- 
ments." And this was what Jesus taught us when he 
said: "Ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever I com- 
mand you." 

And it is always pleasant to meet with persons 
who are trying to serve God as thoroughly as Noah 
did. 

]] r hole- Hearted Christians. A religious meeting 
was once held among some working-men. One after 
another of them rose up to speak of their experience 
on the subject of religion. This was the way in which 
one of them spoke about himself: "I used to be an 
odd-job Christian ; but now, thank God, I'm working 
on full time." 

This was very expressive. There are a great many 
"odd-job Christians." They work for Jesus just when 
it suits them. For the rest of their time they are 



NOAH, THE MODEL WORKER. 69 

pleasing themselves. But Noah was not one of this 
kind. He was on full time. He was a thorough 
worker. He was always trying to do everything that 
God commanded him to do. 

The Faithful Fisherman. There is a fishing village 
on the coast of Cornwall, in England, where the 
people are poor, but pious and intelligent. One year 
they were very much tried. The winds were con- 
trary for nearly a month together, so that the men had 
not been able to go out fishing. At last, one Sunday 
morning, the wind changed, and came out fresh and 
fair. Some of the men whose faith was weak, and 
who had not learned to be thorough workers, went 
down to the beach, and were on the point of getting 
their boats ready to go a fishing, notwithstanding it 
was the Lord's day. 

"I'm sorry it's Sunday" — said one of them — "but 
— if we were only not so poor." 

There was one man among them who had learned, 
like Noah, to be a thorough worker for God. He 
spoke out thus : 

"But, if; what do you mean by this, my friend? 
Surely you -are not going to break God's law with 
your 'buts,' and ' ifs !' " 

The people gathered round him, and he went on to 
say, "Mine's a religion for all weathers, fair wind or 
foul. 'Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.' 
That's the law, my friends. Who can afford to break 
it? True, we are poor ; but what of that? Better to 
be poor and have God's blessing, than rich, and have 
His curse. Let those go a fishing to-day, who can 
afford to break God's law; but I never knew any 



JO BIBLE MODELS. 

crood to come of a religion that chano-ed with the 
wind." 

No boat was launched that Sunday. The men all 
stayed at home, and went to church. And in the 
evening, just when they would have been coming 
home, a terrible storm arose which lasted all through 
the night. It was a storm which no fishing boat could 
have lived through ; and then the men felt thankful 
that they had not broken God's law on that day. And 
they thanked their friend for his good advice which 
had kept them from doing so. 

Obeying 0? r dc?'s. An English farmer was one day 
at work in the fields, when he saw a party of hunts- 
men riding about his farm. He had one field which 
he was especially anxious they should not ride over, 
as the horses' hoofs would greatly injure the crop. So 
he sent one of his boys, and told him to shut the gate, 
and keep watch there, and on no account to let any 
one go through it. 

The boy went; and had scarcely taken his post 
there, before the huntsmen came up and ordered him 
to open the gate. He declined to do so; telling them 
what his orders were, and that he meant to obey them. 
They threatened him ; but he did not mind their 
threats. They offered him money ; but he refused to 
receive it. At last one of them came up to him, and 
said in commanding tones : 

"My boy, you do not know me. But I am the 
Duke of Wellington. I am not accustomed to be 
disobeyed; and now, I command you to open that 
gate, that I and my friends may pass through." 

The boy lifted his cap, and stood uncovered before 



NOAH, THE MODEL WORKER. 7 1 

the man whom all England delighted to honor ; and 
then answered firmly: "I am sure that the Duke of 
Wellington would not wish me to disobey orders. I 
must keep this gate shut ; no one can pass through it, 
but by my master's express permission." 

The brave old warrior was greatly pleased with this. 
Then he took off his own hat, and said, "I honor the 
man, or the boy, who can neither be bribed, nor 
frightened into disobeying his orders. With an army 
of such soldiers I could conquer not the French only, 
but the world." Then handing the boy a sovereign, 
he put spurs to his horse and galloped away. 

The boy went back to his work, shouting out, as he 
did so, "Hurrah! hurrah! I've done what Napoleon 
couldn't do, — I've kept out the Duke of Wellington." 

That boy was following the example of Noah, and 
was learning like him to be a thorough worker. 

But, in the fourth place, Noah was a model worker, 
because he was — a courageous — worker. 

If we had a history of all that took place while 
Noah was building the ark, how interesting it would 
be ! It was such a strange work that he was engaged 
in ! Nothing like it had ever been heard of in that 
country. People would come from all quarters. They 
would look on in wonder. They would ask Noah why 
he was building such a great vessel as that, where 
there was no water within reach, for it to sail in? And 
when he told them, as no doubt he did, that God was 
going to send a flood of water to drown the world for 
its wickedness, and that when the flood came, he and 
his family would be saved in this ark that he was 
building, then, we can easily imagine how they would 



72 BIBLE MODELS. 

laugh at him. They would say he was crazy. They 
would call him an old fool, and make all sorts of fun 
of him. And this is something which it is always very 
hard to bear. Many men who have courage enough 
to go boldly into battle, and face the glittering swords, 
or roaring cannon of their enemies, have not courage 
enough to go on doing a thing when men laugh at 
them, and ridicule them for doing it. But Noah did 
not mind this at all. He let them laugh as much as 
they pleased, while he went quietly on, with the work 
that God had given him to do. And so we may well 
say that he was a courageous worker. 

And we must imitate the example of Noah in this 
respect, if we wish to serve God acceptably. We 
must be brave enough to do what we know to be 
right, no matter what others may say or do. And it 
is always pleasant to see those who have courage to 
do what is right, as Noah did. 

A Noble Boy. A poor boy who had a patch on his 
knee, was attending school. One of his schoolmates 
nicknamed him "Old Patch." "Why don't you fight 
him?" asked another of the boys. "I'd give it to 
him, if he called me such a name." 

"Oh!" answered the boy, "you don't suppose I'm 
ashamed of my patch, do you? For my part I'm 
thankful for a good mother to keep me out of rags. 
I honor my patch for her sake." That was the right 
kind of courage. 

A Real Hero. There was a little girl named Con- 
stance. Her father was dead, and her mother quite 
poor. Constance went to a school which was also 
attended by the children of several rich families in 





THE FLOOD. 



74 BIBLE MODELS. 

the neighborhood. These children used to make great 
fun about poor Constance, because she was not as 
finely dressed as they were. 

One day they were going home from school. Con- 
stance was walking a little way before them. One of 
the girls pointed at her, and said, "See how many 
patches she has in her dress ! One, two, three, four." 
Then the boys all laughed at her. Poor little Con- 
stance ! She burst into tears, and tried to run home. 

"Cry-baby! cry-baby," shouted the boys. 

"I don't want her to sit by me," said Ella Gray. 
"What right has she to come to our school?" asked 
proud Lily Gross. 

There was only one boy, in that school, who was 
brave enough to do what was right, under these cir- 
cumstances. His name was Douglass Stewart. He 
felt sorry for poor Constance, and breaking away from 
the rude boys and girls, he ran up to her to try and 
comfort her. 

"Never mind what they say. Let me carry your 
books. Cheer up! it's only a little way to your home, 
isn't it?" 

Constance looked up through her tears to see the 
bravest boy in the school by her side. 

"I live in the little house under the hill," said Con- 
stance. "It isn't like your grand house." 

"No matter for that. It has pretty vines, and climb- 
ing roses, and it's a very nice house to live in," said 
Douglass, smiling. "I dare say you are very happy 
there." 

"Yes, but I don't want to come to their school any 
more," said Constance, softly. 






NOAH, THE MODEL WORKER. 75 

" Oh, things will be all right in a day or two," said 
the boy, kindly. " Never mind them just now." 

And it turned out as Douglass said. There was no 
one in the school who had more influence with the 
scholars than he had. And when they saw how 
bravely he took the part of poor Constance, they all 
felt ashamed of themselves ; and after that no one 
in the school ever spoke an unkind word to her. This 
was truly noble in that boy. He was acting like a 
real hero. 

Here are some simple lines with which we may 
close this part of our subject. They show us some 
of the different ways in which true courage will lead 
us to act. 

"Dare to think, though others frown, 
Dare your words in thoughts express ; 
Dare to rise, though oft cast down ; 

Dare the wronged, and scorned to bless. 

" Dare from custom to depart ; 

Dare the priceless pearl possess ; 
Dare to wear it next your heart ; 
Dare, when others cease to bless, 



Dare forsake what you deem wrong; 

Dare to walk in wisdom's way; 
Dare to give where gifts belong ; 

Dare God's precepts to obey. 

Do what conscience says is right ; 

Do what reason says is best ; 
Do with all your mind and might ; 

Do your duty and be blest." 



j6 BIBLE MODELS. 

Noah was a model worker because he was a coura- 
geous worker. 

And then in the last place, Noah was a ?)todel worker, 
because he was — a successful — zvorker. 

He labored on through all those long years until 
the ark was finished. And then, when the flood came, 
he was saved himself, and his family was saved, 
while all the rest of the world was swept away in its 
wickedness. And who can tell how much good Noah 
did by his successful work on the ark ? That good 
has extended to all who have lived since then. You 
and I owe a debt of gratitude to Noah for his success- 
ful work. If it had not been for the way in which he 
did that work, we never should have lived in this 
world, and never have had the opportunity of doing 
any good here. And when we think of all the good 
that has been done in the world, we see that Noah 
has had a part in it ; for unless he had worked as he 
did, till the ark was finished, none of this good could 
ever have been done. And this is a thought that may 
well encourage us in working for God. We never 
can tell how successful our work may be, and what 
great good may follow from it. 

Praying over Lessons. "There," said a little boy, 
"I've learned my lessons sooner than ever I did 
before. I do believe it did me good to pray over my 
books." 

He was asked what he meant by saying that. "Well, 
you see, when I came home from school, and looked 
over my lessons, they seemed very hard. At first I 
said to myself, 'I never can learn them in the little 
time I have to Q-'we to them.' But then, I remembered 



NOAH, THE MODEL WORKER. J J 

what my Sunday-school teacher had told me, about 
Daniel and his three friends ; so I thought if prayer 
helped them, it might help me. Then I prayed over 
my lessons, asking God to help me, and give me a 
good memory, and then I learned my lessons in half 
the time it generally took me." 

Here was a successful worker. And we shall find 
prayer a great help to success in all the work we have 
to do. 

The Left-Hand Letter. A young man left home to 
go to college. His mother was an earnest Christian. 
She was very anxious that her son should be a Chris- 
tian also. Before leaving home she begged him, with 
the tenderest love, not to put off this important mat- 
ter. But he could only think about his studies, and 
about what he was going to do, when he got through 
college. In all her letters to him, his mother had some 
kind and loving words to say, on the subject of re- 
ligion. 

There was a revival of religion in college, while he 
was there, and many of his class became Christians. 
His mother wrote to him, earnestly urging him to im- 
prove the opportunity, and to give himself to the ser- 
vice of God. But he would not listen to her. Then 
many days passed by without hearing from his mother, 
whom he greatly loved as he ought to do. He was 
afraid that something had happened to her, and the 
thought distressed him greatly. And he was right, in 
what he feared. 

His mother had lost the use of her right hand. 
This unfitted her from attending to many of her 
duties. The hardest thing- connected with this acci- 



78 BIBLE MODELS. 

dent, to her, was the thought she could no longer 
write to her son, and speak to him about the blessed 
Saviour. 

But she resolved to try and write him a letter with 
her left hand. This was hard work; and when fin- 
ished the writing was so crooked, and miserable-look- 
ing, that she could hardly keep back her tears on 
seeing it. But it was the best that she could do. 
Before sending it, she kneeled down, and asked God 
to bless it, and make it the means of doing good to 
her dear boy. 

Then the letter was sent. On taking it out of the 
post-office, her son looked at it with great anxiety. 
"What can it mean?" he said to himself. "I am ex- 
pecting a letter from mother. This is from home ; but 
it is not my mother's writing. Has anything happened 
to her ? Can it be that my darling mother has died, 
and I not yet a Christian ?" 

Then he hastened to his room. With trembling 
hand he tore open the letter. It was signed by his 
mother. She told him of the accident that had hap- 
pened to her, and of her effort to write this with her 
left hand. The crooked words were hard to read. It 
took him a long while to get through with them. But, 
after just briefly mentioning the accident to her hand, 
the rest of the letter was all about one thing — namely, 
her earnest desire that he should become a Christian. 
And every word that he read seemed to go right to 
his heart. As he finished the letter and folded it up, 
he said to himself: "Well, if my salvation makes my 
mother so anxious, that she can't wait till her hand 
gets well, but must write about it with her left hand, 



So 



BIBLE MODELS. 



I am sure it is time for me to attend to it at once, and 
by God's help I will." 

He went to church that evening with some of his 
class-mates, and never rested till he had found a hope 
in Jesus, and had given himself up to his service. 

This good mother was a successful worker. And, 
if, like her, we ask God's help in our work, we shall 
be successful too. 

And thus we have looked at the five things about 
Noah, which made him a model worker. He was a 
model worker. He was a ready worker ; — a persever- 
ing worker; — a thorough worker; — a courageous 
worker ; — and a successful worker. And it will help 
to make us useful, and happy in serving God, if we 
take Noah as our model, and try to follow his example 
in all these respects. 




JOB, THE MODEL OF PIETY. 



Job — was— one that feared God." — Job i:i. 




jHE history of Job is very interesting. We 
find the book that bears his name placed 
next to the book of Psalms in the Bible, 
but we must not suppose from this that 
Job lived about the time of David. This 
was not the case. Job must have lived not very long 
after the deluge. Somewhere between the time of 
Noah and of Abraham is about the place to which he 
belonged. 

The book of Job is probably the oldest book in the 
Bible, or in the world. It is a wonderful book on 
many accounts. And one of the most wonderful 
things about it, is the amount of knowledge it con- 
tains in reference to astronomy, and natural history, 
and geography and such like subjects. But more 
wonderful still than this is the knowledge that we find 
in the book of Job about God, and the nature of his 
service — and the right way of worshipping Him. And 
so, when we come to speak of Job as one of the Bible 



82 BIBLE MODELS. 

models, perhaps the best thing to do will be to con- 
sider him as the model of piety. 

This is just the view of his character which the 
words of our text would lead us to take. "Job — was 
one that feared God." 

And when we come to study this model, we find 
that there are jive things about it, which we should 
remember, and try to imitate. 

In the first place Job was a model of- — home piety. 

The apostle Paul tells us that we should " learn first 
to show piety at home." i Tim. \:^. This is the right 
place in which piety should be shown. Some persons 
are particular about going regularly to church. They 
pretend to be very good, and pious, when among 
strangers; but they are not careful how they act at 
home. This is not right. If we are really trying to 
be good Christians, and to love and serve God, then 
home is the place in which we should let our religion 
be seen. It should make us more respectful and obe- 
dient to our parents, and more kind, and loving, and 
gentle to our brothers and sisters, and to all about 
us, at home, than those are who do not profess to be 
Christians. 

This was what Job's piety did for him. He had 
seven sons and three daughters. He was in the habit 
of having family worship with them. They had grown 
up to be good men and women, under the influence 
of their father's home piety. His sons were settled 
near their father, in houses of their own. They were 
in the habit of having social gatherings at each others 
houses. Their sisters, and all the members of their 
large family, were always invited to be present on 




THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 



84 BIBLE MODELS. 

these occasions. And when the feasting was over, 
their father was accustomed to gather them all to- 
gether, for special religious services, when he prayed 
that God would forgive them, if any of them had said, 
or thought, or felt, or done, anything that was wrong 
while the feasting was going on. And it was in this 
way that Job was a model of piety at home. And we 
should all try to follow his example here. For, while 
real piety is a beautiful thing to see anywhere, it is 
always most beautiful when seen at home. Here are 
some illustrations of this statement. 

The Power of Example. A young man who was 
about to be ordained to the ministry, in talking with 
a friend, about what led him to become a Christian, 
said : 

"I was once very near becoming an infidel, but 
there was one argument in favor of the religion of 
Christ, which I could never answer, and that was the 
beautifully consistent life of my father. This was the 
only thing that kept me from becoming an infidel. 
My father's beautiful home piety, was what saved 
me." 

The Influence of Home Piety. A gentleman was 
speaking to a young friend, who was going to join 
the church. "Under whose preaching were you con- 
verted?" was his inquiry. 

"It was nobody's preaching, but it was Aunt Mary's 
practising, which led me to become a Christian," was 
the answer given. 

A young man who had been living a very careless, 
and ungodly life became a Christian. The change 
in his conduct and character was very great. All his 



JOB, THE MODEL OF PIETY. 85 

friends noticed it. One of them asked him, what it 
was that led to this change. 

"Well," said he, "you know what a good Christian 
John Yates is. It was living in the same house with 
him that led to this change." 

"Did John talk to you on the subject of religion?" 

"No; he never opened his lips on the subject, till 
I went and talked to him about it. But then his life 
was speaking to me all the time. There was such a 
sweetness in his temper ; he was so bright and cheer- 
ful, and there was so much beauty in the way he acted, 
that I felt dissatisfied with myself every time I saw 
him. I felt sure that he had a power, and a peace, 
and a comfort, of which I knew nothing at all. So 
at last I went to his room to ask him about it. He 
talked so sweetly to me, and prayed so earnestly 
for me, that I never rested till I became a Chris- 
tian." This was home piety producing its proper 
effect. 

How Children may Show Piety at Home. An old 
lady was sitting in her arm-chair by the fire. To a 
friend, who came in to see her, she said: "Look at 
my little grand-daughter there, she is feet, and hands, 
and eyes, and everything to me." 

"How so?" asked her friend. 

"Why, you see, she runs about so nimbly to do the 
work of the house ; she fetches me so willingly what- 
ever I want ; and when she has done, she sits down 
and reads so nicely to me a chapter in the Bible. She 
is like a little angel to me." That dear child had 
learned to "show piety at home;" and this is the best 
thing for us all to learn. 



86 BIBLE MODELS. 

Job was a model of home piety. Let us all try to 
follow his example in this respect. 

But, in the second place, fob was a model of- — intel- 
ligent — piety. 

Job lived so long ago that we could hardly have 
expected to find he had very clear views about the 
character of God, and the way to serve Him. But 
he had. Indeed it is wonderful how much he knew 
about these things. Let us take a single passage 
from the book of Job to illustrate this point. In the 
19th chapt, vs. 25, 26, we find him speaking thus: 
"I know that my Redeemer liveth; and that he shall 
stand at the latter day upon the earth; and though 
after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh 
shall I see God." These words are used in our burial 
service. We repeat them beside the open graves in 
which we bury our friends when they die. They are 
very beautiful words. They point us to Jesus. They 
show us that Job knew about the Saviour, who was 
to come into the world, in the fulness of time ; and 
who was to secure to his people the resurrection from 
the dead. 

Job lived before any part of the Bible had been 
written. But he got his knowledge about these things 
from the God of the Bible. And when we remember 
this, we do not wonder so much to find how clear his 
views were about God and his service. He went to 
God for his knowledge, and it was this which made 
him a model of intelligent piety. 

And if we wish to imitate Job, in this respect, we 
must get our views of what true piety is, from the 
Bible. All knowledge is valuable — but the knowledge 




THE TRANSFIGURATION. 



88 BIBLE MODELS. 

of God, and die right way of serving Him, which we 
ofet from the Bible, is the most valuable of all. St. 
Paul said this knowledge was so excellent that he 
would consider the loss of everything he had, a gain, 
if he might secure it in this way. 

And if we come to the Bible to find out what true 
piety is, and how we are to serve God, we shall un- 
derstand this matter as Job did, and our piety, like his, 
will be intelligent piety. 

It Says so in the Book. Two men were standing on 
the deck of a ship, which was on the stocks, ready to 
be launched. One of them was the foreman, and the 
other was one of the carpenters, engaged in building 
the vessel. "Well, David," said the foreman, "I've 
been thinking I would like to have a little talk with 
you. I hear you are one of those who say they are 
sure of being saved. Is that so?" 

"Certainly," said David. 

"But how do you know it?" 

"Can you tell me how wide that gutter for water is, 
that runs round the deck?" 

"Why, it's just fourteen inches all the way round," 
said the foreman. "I'm sure of that." 

"But what makes you so sure?" asked David. 

"Because it says so in the book; and I go by the 
book." As he said this he took a memorandum book 
out of his pocket, in which were marked the exact 
size, and position of everything on the deck. 

"I'm sure it's just fourteen inches, for here it is 
written down in the book, and I got this book from 
headquarters." 

"Oh! I see," said David. "Now, please look here. 



JOB, THE MODEL OF PIETY. 89 

That is exactly how I know that I am saved. 'It says 
so in the book; and I go by the booky And as he 
said this he pulled a New Testament out of his 
pocket. "This book came from headquarters. Just 
see what is written in it. 'God so loved the world, 
that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoso- 
ever believeth in him should not perish, but have 
everlasting life.' John iii : 16. 'Believe on the Lord 
Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.' Acts xvi : 31. 
'He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life.' 
John iii : 36. Now I know that I believe; and the 
book tells me I am saved. In this way I am sure 
of it." 

That man knew what he was about. "He went by 
the book." That made his piety like Job's, an intel- 
ligent piety. 

A Cure for Anger. Two little sisters, one seven, 
and the other five years old, were playing together, 
when a dispute arose between them. Lucy, the elder, 
feeling that her anger was rising, said : 

"I am getting angry; I had better go out of the 
room for a few minutes." 

She went out, and going to her own room kneeled 
down, and asked God to help her not to get angry. 
Then she went to her sister, and as it always takes 
two to make a quarrel, there was no quarrel between 
those sisters, because Lucy would have nothing to do 
with it. 

She had not read the Bible in vain. She under- 
stood the meaning of such sweet promises as these, 
"Fear not, for I will help thee." Isaiah xli : 10. "Ask, 
and it shall be given you." St. Matt, vii : 7. And 



90 BIBLE MODELS. 

this knowledge was a great help to her. Her piety 
was an intelligent piety. 

True Comfort. An aged Christian was once re- 
duced to great poverty, and yet he never murmured. 
A kind-hearted neighbor met him in the street one 
day, and said to him, "You must be badly off, I can- 
not tell how you manage to maintain yourself and 
your wife ; and yet you are always cheerful." 

"Oh, no," said the old Christian, "we are not badly 
off We have a rich Father, and he does not suffer 
us to want." 

"Is it possible that your father is not dead yet? 
Why he must be very old indeed." 

"My Father never dies. Of course I mean my 
Father in heaven. He always takes care of me." 
This old man understood the meaning of God's prom- 
ises, and he believed them. This made him happy. 
And this is enough to make any one happy. This 
poor man shows us how we may imitate the model Job 
sets before us, of — intelligent piety. 

In the third place, yob was a model of- — practical — 
piety. 

His piety did not show itself in what he said only, 
but also, and mainly, in what he did. And while he 
showed his piety at home, he did not confine it there. 
He carried his religion with him, wherever he went. 
In the 29th chapter of the book which bears Job's 
name, we have a beautiful word-picture of the prac- 
tical piety of this good man. In showing us how he 
made his piety practical, this is what he says: "When 
the ear heard me, then it blessed me ; and when the 
eye saw me, it gave witness to me ; because I delivered 





JESUS HEALS THE IMPOTENT MAN. 



Q2 BIBLE MODELS. 

the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that 
had none to help him. The blessing of him that was 
ready to perish came upon me ; and I caused the 
widow's heart to sing for joy." "I was eyes to the 
blind, and feet was I to the lame. I was a father to 
the poor; and the cause which I knew not, I searched 
out." This is a very beautiful picture of practical 
piety. 

We have some examples of good Christian men 
and women who are like Job in this respect. But 
there ought to be many more of the same kind. In- 
deed every Christian ought to imitate the model of 
practical piety that we find in Job. And if we really 
love Jesus, there is no better way in which we can 
show our love to him than by trying to be like Job, in 
this respect. 

And if, from the example of Job, we look up to 
the example of Jesus we shall find them both, very 
much alike in this respect. When Jesus "went about 
doing good" He was making His piety practical. And 
if we wish to be His true and faithful followers, we 
must learn to "tread in the blessed steps of His most 
holy life." Let us look at some illustrations of the 
way in which we may do this. 

Bessie and Her Mission. Pansie Merl was a little 
girl about seven years old. She was trying to be a 
Christian. During a long spell of sickness, which 
Pansie had, her dear mother made her a doll. They 
called the doll Bessie. The good mother cut out a 
lot of underclothes for the doll, with dresses, and 
aprons, and sacques, and then she helped Pansie to 
make them all up. After that, during all her sickness, 



JOB, THE MODEL OF PIETY. 93 

Pansie spent a great deal of time in dressing and un- 
dressing her doll, and in folding up her clothes and 
putting them away in a nice little set of drawers which 
her father had given her. And in doing this the dear 
child found the greatest possible delight and comfort. 

When she got well she continued to feel a great 
interest in the doll, and never forgot the comfort she 
had found in it during her sickness. And while think- 
ing about it, one day, the idea came into her mind 
that she might make her dolly a sort of missionary. 
She made up her mind that when she heard of a sick 
child in their neighborhood, too poor to have any play- 
things, she would take her dolly, and the little trunk 
containing its clothes, and lend it to the poor child 
to amuse and comfort her, until she got well again. 
Then when dolly came back, she had her mended. 
Her clothes also were mended, and washed, so as to 
be ready for another mission of mercy. That was 
Bessie's mission. And many a poor sick child was 
made happy in this way. Surely that little girl, in her 
own simple way, was following the example of prac- 
tical piety, which the patriarch Job left us so long ago ! 

A Beautiful Example, or Lady Stanley. There is 
a good story told of Lady Stanley, the wife of the 
late well-known Dean Stanley, of Westminster Abbey, 
which illustrates very nicely this part of our subject. 

There is a hospital in London near the famous 
Abbey of Westminster. Lady Stanley was in the 
habit of spending a good deal of time in this hospital 
— talking with the sick and suffering people there, and 
trying to cheer and comfort them. Among these was 
a poor woman, suffering from a painful, and dangerous 



94 BTBLE MODELS. 

disease. Lady Stanley's kind words had been a great 
comfort to her, on her sick bed. The doctors said 
that her life could only be saved by her having to go 
through a very painful operation. When it was first 
mentioned to her she felt quite unwilling to submit to 
the operation. They told her that she must certainly 
die unless the operation were performed. "I think I 
could bear it," she said, "if Lady Stanley could be 
with me while it was being done." Lady Stanley was 
sent for. When the messenger arrived at her home, 
he found her dressed in the splendid robes which 
ladies wear when called upon to attend on Queen 
Victoria. She had been thus summoned, and was 
just about starting for the Queen's palace. She re- 
ceived the message from the hospital. There was no 
time to change her dress ; so she threw a cloak over 
her, and hastened to the hospital. She spoke some 
encouraging words to the poor woman, and stood by 
her side till the operation was over, and the poor 
suffering patient was made comfortable. Then the 
noble Lady hastened to the palace. She apologized to 
the Queen for her delay in coming, and told her what 
had caused the delay. The good Queen praised her 
for kindly waiting on one of her suffering subjects, 
before coming to wait on her. This was noble both 
in the Queen, and in Lady Stanley. And here we 
have a beautiful illustration of that practical piety of 
which we have so excellent a model in Job. 

In the fourth place, we have in Job a model of- — 
patient — piety. 

The apostle James says: "Ye have heard of the 
patience of Job." And this is the first thought that 




JOB HEARS OF HIS LOSSES. 



Q6 BIBLE MODELS. 

comes to us when the name of Job is mentioned. He 
was indeed, a wonderful model of patient piety. Job 
was a very rich man, with a large family of seven sons 
and three daughters. In the short space of one sad 
day, he heard of the loss of all his property, and of the 
death of all his children. Only think what a terrible 
calamity that was! It was enough to overcome the 
patience of any one. Suppose we try to put our- 
selves in Job's place, and think how we should have 
felt under such a trial as that ! We should have been 
tempted to say some very bitter things against the 
providence of God for permitting so great, and heart- 
crushing an affliction to come upon us. 

But Job said nothing of the kind. He listened 
quietly to the messengers, as they came in, one after 
another, till the whole sad story was told. Then we 
read that "Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved 
his head." This was the way, in which people in that 
eastern country were accustomed to express their 
feelings when in great sorrow. And then — "he fell 
upon the ground and worshipped, and said — The 
Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away ; blessed be 
the name of the Lord. In all this Job sinned not, 
nor charged God foolishly." 

This was wonderful. What a model of patient 
piety Job was ! 

Not long after this, another great trial came upon 
this patient man. All at once his health was taken 
away from him, and his body was covered, from head 
to foot, with painful, and offensive sores and boils. 
This must have made him most loathsome to himself, 
and to all about him. The patience of his wife quite 



'%! 



\ 



5 W/M ' ' li ; ! 

Zr ■"' ' «^ ' if' ,; | ' ; 




JOB IN AFFLICTION-. 



98 BIBLE MODELS. 

gave out now. She lost all control of herself. And 
in her anger she said to him reproachfully — "Dost 
thou still retain thine integrity? Curse God, and die. 
But he said unto her — what! shall we receive good at 
the hand of the Lord, and shall we not receive evil ? 
In all this Job did not sin with his lips." 

This was wonderful indeed ! Well may we speak 
of Job as a model of patient piety! It is always 
pleasant to see piety of this kind. But we need not 
go outside of the Bible, for our illustrations on this 
point of our subject. One other illustration will be 
enough. We find this in the New Testament. Jesus 
will be our example here. And thus we shall have 
Job as the model of patient piety from the Old Testa- 
ment, and Jesus as our model of the same from the 
New Testament. 

We have seen what a wonderful model of patience 
we have in Job ; but, we have a still more wonderful 
model of the same in Jesus. The patience of Job 
was beautiful indeed, at the beginning ; but it did not 
last. When he found that his trials continued longer 
than he expected, he got discouraged, and said some 
very impatient things. He failed in his patience 
before he got through with his trials. And so it is, 
with all the examples of piety and patience, that we 
find among our fellow creatures. They fail, like Job, 
sooner or later. If we examine them closely, we shall 
be sure to find a blot about them somewhere. But it 
is different with Jesus, our blessed Saviour. His ex- 
ample is the only really perfect one that was ever seen 
in this world. His example is perfect in everything. 
But it is especially so in his patience. 



IOO BIBLE MODELS. 

The trials of his life were many and great, and yet, 
under them all, he was never known to speak one 
cross, or angry word, or to do one unkind, or impa- 
tient act. But the trials connected with his death 
were greater far, than those he had to bear in his life, 
and here too his patience was perfect. See, there is 
the divine Sufferer, hanging on the cross. The crown 
of thorns is still racking his sacred brow with anguish. 
The rough, cruel nails in his hands and feet are send- 
ing untold tortures all through his quivering frame. 
No tongue can tell the agony he is suffering. His un- 
feeling enemies are standing by, unmoved by the 
sight of the nameless pangs, and torments he is 
enduring. Not one of them sheds a tear, or heaves 
a sigh, or speaks a word of sympathy. Instead of 
this they mock him in his misery, and say all sorts of 
unkind, and cruel things about him. This would seem 
too much for the patience of any one to bear. But, 
did the patience of Jesus fail here? No. Mark! 
He is speaking now. And what is he saying? He 
is praying for his enemies. And what is he praying 
for? Listen; these are his words: "Father, forgive 
them ; for they know not what they do !" This is 
wonderful indeed. Here is patience, such as was 
never seen, or heard of, before or since. And if we 
try to be like him, in this respect, then we shall indeed 
be examples of patient piety. 

In the Collect appointed for us to use on the Sun- 
day before Easter, we are taught to pray — "that we 
may follow the example of his patience!' And if we 
offer this prayer aright, and seek the grace that will 
enable us to be, what we are here taught to pray for, 



JOB, THE MODEL OF PIETY. IOI 

then, like Job in the Old Testament, and like Jesus in 
the New Testament, we shall learn to be models of 
patient piety. 

But then there is one other point for us to notice, in 
the model of piety which we have in Job, and that is, 
he was a model, or example of- — rewarded — -piety. 

When Satan was trying to get permission to tempt 
Job, one of the questions that he asked was — "Does 
Job serve God for nought?" He meant to say that 
Job was selfish in his religion ; and only served God 
for the pay or profit he expected from it. But he was 
mistaken here. Job was not selfish in his religion. 
He knew very well that there was a reward to be 
found in the service of God. But this was not the 
only thing he thought of in that service. When God 
gives us promises, as his servants, He means that we 
should think about them, and be influenced by them. 

Remember how it was with Moses. When he re- 
fused "to be called the Son of Pharaoh's daughter," 
and turned his back on all the treasures of Egypt, 
we are told that "he had respect unto the recompense 
of the reward." This means that his eye was fixed 
on that reward. He was thinking about it, and re- 
solving by the help of God to gain it. And this is 
just what God wants us to do. The service of God 
is the most profitable service that any one can engage 
in. In the end, it pays better than any other. This 
was what Solomon meant when he said: "The mer- 
chandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, 
and the gain thereof than fine gold." And this was 
what David meant when he said: "In keeping God's 
commandments there is great reward." And this was 



102 BIBLE MODELS. 

one of the thoughts that comforted Job, in the midst 
of his great trials. And it was this thought which led 
him to say — "When He hath tried me, I shall come 
forth as gold." And so he did. For when his trials 
were over, we read that God gave him as many chil- 
dren as he had before, and twice as much property. 
What his reward in heaven has been we do not know ; 
but we shall know when we get there. And then we 
shall see how true it is that Job is an example, or 
model, of rewarded piety. And all who serve God, 
as faithfully as Job did, will find themselves richly re- 
warded. Here are some illustrations of the way in 
which true piety is rewarded. 

Profitable Living. A collecting agent for the Ame- 
rican Bible Society, called on a plain farmer for his 
contribution to the Bible cause. He was not by any 
means a wealthy man — but worked his own farm. 
He looked over his books for a few moments, and 
then said — "My contribution this year will be seventy 
dollars." 

"Why, this is a wonderfully large contribution," 
said the collector. "How can you afford to give so 
much ?" 

"I will tell you," said the farmer. "Six years ago, 
I felt that I was not giving as much as I ought to give. 
So I made up my mind, that I would try to give, in 
proportion to what the Lord was giving to me. This 
was the plan which I concluded to adopt. I said 
to myself, I will lay aside for the Lord's use five cents, 
on every bushel of wheat I raise ; three cents on every 
bushel of oats or barley; and ten cents out of every 
dollar made by the wool and butter, and other things 



JOB, THE MODEL OF PIETY. IO3 

that I sell from my farm. At the close of the first 
year, after adopting this plan, I found that I had 
twenty dollars to give away. The second year I had 
thirty-five dollars; the third year, forty-seven; the 
fourth, forty-nine; the fifth, fifty-nine; and this year 
I have seventy dollars to give away. My own ex- 
perience proves the truth of Solomon's words, when he 
says, in one place, ' There is that scatter eth, and yet in- 
creaseth: and in another place — 'The liberal soul shall 
be made fat!" 

We see the piety of this good man, in the liberal 
way in which he made use of his money, for doing 
good with it. And we see how his piety was rewarded 
in the gradual increase of his income. This is one 
of the ways in which God rewards those who show 
their piety by giving freely to his cause. 

The Price Paid. The Chinese, as a people, are 
very fond of money. They will do almost anything 
to get it. And whatever they see people doing they 
think that it is always for the purpose of getting 
money. When they see some of their people being 
baptized,- and joining the church, after hearing the 
missionaries preach, they think it is because the mis- 
sionaries have paid them money, for doing this. "One 
of our new converts," said a Chinese missionary, "re- 
cently had a talk with a neighbor on this subject, when 
the following conversation took place:" 

"How much did these foreigners give you for join- 
ing their church ? Twenty dollars ?" 

"More than that." 

"A hundred dollars?" 

"More than that." 



104 BIBLE MODELS. 

"A thousand dollars?" 

" More than that." 

"Then, pray, how much?" 

"More than the value of the weight of this moun- 
tain, in gold and silver." 

"In the name of Boohha ! do tell me, then, what 
they gave you ?" 

"They gave me this precious book," said the Chris- 
tian Chinaman, holding up his Bible. " This tells me 
of God, of Christ, of Calvary, of Salvation, and ever- 
lasting life in heaven ; and this is worth more than all 
the world to me." 

Here was piety rewarded indeed ! The promises 
of God's blessed book are the reward of all who learn 
to love and serve Him. And the value of this reward 
is so great, that there are no figures by which we can 
express it. 

I have just one other illustration of this part of our 
subject. We may call it — Piety Rewarded — or Telling 
the Truth. 

A young man, who was a member of the church, 
and an earnest Christian, had a situation in a large 
commission-house in New York. On one occasion a 
large quantity of beans that had been damaged, was 
sent to this firm, for them to sell. 

When these damaged beans were received, a lot 
of beans of the first quality was purchased. Then 
they went to work to put up the beans in barrels. At 
the bottom and the top of each barrel, a lot of the 
good beans was put, so that whichever end of any 
barrel might be opened, the good beans would be 
seen, though the rest of each barrel was filled up with 



JOB, THE MODEL OF PIETY. IO5 

the bad beans. When the barrels were all closed up, 
the head of the firm went to work and marked them 
thus: "Beans A — No. I." On seeing this, the clerk 
said to his employer, "Do you think it right, sir, to 
mark those beans — 'A — No. I?'" 

"Hold your tongue, sir ! it's none of your business!" 
was the sharp reply. 

The clerk said no more. The beans were all bar- 
reled, and marked — "A — No. I," and stowed away 
in the upper part of the warehouse. A sample of 
beans of the first quality, was kept in the office for 
examination. 

One day, a gentleman came into the office, who 
wished to buy a large quantity of beans. He ex- 
amined the sample there, and liked them very much. 
"Can I see the beans in the barrels?" he asked. " Cer- 
tainly, sir," said the head of the firm, and he told the 
clerk already spoken of, to take the gentleman up- 
stairs. A barrel was opened. He looked at them 
carefully. They were just like the sample he had 
seen below. Then he said to the clerk: "Young 
man, the sample of beans shown me in the office, 
and these at the top of the barrel, are of the first 
quality. I can't get such beans anywhere for so low 
a price. But answer me honestly one question — are 
the beans in these barrels of the same quality all 
the way through?" 

The clerk hesitated for a moment. He knew his 
employer w T ould expect him to say — yes, but his con- 
science told him he ought to say no. He resolved to 
be true to his conscience. So he answered — "No, sir, 
they are not." 



106 BIBLE MODELS. 

"Then, I don't want them," said the gentleman, and 
left. 

The young man returned to the office. 

"Did you sell that man those beans?" asked his 
employer. 

"No, sir," said he. 

"Why not?" 

"Well, sir, the man asked me to tell him honestly, 
if the beans were of the same quality all through the 
barrel, as they were at the top. I told him they were 
not. Then he said he didn't want them, and left." 

"Well, sir, you can go to the cashier and get your 
wages," said the employer. "We don't want you 
here any longer." 

So the young man lost his situation. You may be 
ready to say — "Well, this was rather a poor reward 
for his piety." But this was not the end of it. A few 
days after he received a note from his late employers, 
asking him to call on them. He went to see them. 

"We have a place of great importance to be filled," 
said the head of the firm. "We need for it a person 
in whose truthfulness and honesty, we can have the 
most entire confidence. The salary is three hundred 
dollars a year more than you received in your former 
position. Will you accept it?" 

"I will sir, with thankfulness." 

"Very well, then it is yours." 

That young man's piety led him to run the risk of 
losing his situation rather than tell a lie. But he had 
the reward of his piety in the much better situation 
which it secured to him. 

Thus we have considered Job as a model of piety. 



JOB, THE MODEL OF PIETY. 



IO7 



He was a model of home piety; of intelligent piety ; 
of practical piety ; of patient piety ; and of rewarded 
piety. Let us pray God to give us grace to follow 
his example, in these five different ways — and then, 
wherever we go, we shall be models of piety too ! 




JOB IN PROSPERITY. 



ABRAHAM, THE MODEL OF FAITH 



"Abraham believed God." — Romans iv : 3. 




HEN we hear, or read of the good men, 
whose histories are written in the Bible, 
we generally connect with each of them, 
the thought of some one particular thing, 
for which he was especially remarkable. 
And it is in these things that they come before us as 
our models. Thus we have spoken of Abel as the 
model speaker because he taught us how to speak 
by our actions ; and of Enoch as the model zvalker, 
because it was said of him that — "he walked with 
God." We spoke of Noah as the model worker, be- 
cause — "all that God commanded him — he did." 

And when Abraham comes before us, we always 
think of him as the man who was remarkable, above 
all others, for his faith in God. "Abraham believed 
God" — says St. Paul in our text. And the same 
thing is said of him over and over again in the 
Bible. And for this reason, he is spoken of as "the 
father of the faithful." And so, when we come to 
consider the character of Abraham as one of "the 



ABRAHAM, THE MODEL OF FAITH. IO9 

Bible models" — we may well speak of him as — the 
model of faith. 

And there are four things about the faith of Abra- 
ham, in which we may take him as our model, and try 
to have the same kind of faith. 

In the first place, the faith of Abraham was — a 
simple — faith ; and in this respect it is a good model 
for us to follow. And in speaking of Abraham's 
faith, as a simple faith, I mean that it was a faith which 
asked for nothing but the word of God to rest upon. 
Sometimes people are not willing to take God at his 
word, and let their faith rest on that alone. They are 
not willing to believe what God says, just because He 
says it. They want to have arguments, or signs, or 
wonders given them, to prove that God's word is 
true. 

We have examples of this kind of faith in the Bible. 
We have one of these examples in the case of Heze- 
kiah, the king of Israel. He had a very severe spell 
of sickness at one time. While he was suffering 
under this sickness, God sent him word, by the prophet 
Isaiah, to prepare for death, as this was to be his last 
sickness. This distressed him very much, for he did 
not wish to die then. He wept, and prayed earnestly, 
that God would spare him, and let him live a little 
longer. God heard his prayer, and sent him word 
by the prophet, that He would make him well again, 
and let him live for fifteen years longer. 

But Hezekiah's faith was not a simple faith, like that 
of Abraham. He was not ready to take God at His 
word. He asked the prophet to give him a sign, by 
which he might know that what God had promised him 



IIO BIBLE MODELS. 

was true. Abraham believed God, without asking for 
any sign. Abraham's faith was a simple faith; but 
Hezekiah's faith was not of this kind. If you wish 
to know about the sign which God gave to Hezekiah, 
you will find it in the 20th chapter of II. Kings. 

And then we have another illustration, of the same 
kind, in the New Testament Before John the Bap- 
tist was born, God sent the angel Gabriel, down 
from heaven, to tell his father Zacharias about it. 
Zacharias was a priest. And one day, as he was 
standing by the altar, in the temple at Jerusalem, 
conducting the worship of God, the angel came and 
stood by his side. He told him that though he was 
an old man, and had never had a son, yet God was 
going to visit him in mercy, and that before long he 
would have a son born in his house. He told him 
by what name he was to be called, what a great and 
good man he would grow up to be, and that he was 
to be the forerunner of Christ — the long promised 
Saviour of the world. 

Now, if the faith of Zacharias had been like that of 
Abraham — he would have taken God at his word, and 
the message of the angel, would at once, have filled 
him with gladness. But it was not so. Instead of 
believing what the angel had told him, and rejoicing 
in it, he said — "whereby shall I know" that this is 
all true? And he asked for a sign. You can read 
about it in the first chapter of St. Luke. 

Now let us look at some illustrations of simple faith, 
like that which Abraham had. 

Here is a story of a good Christian mother, who be- 
lieved God, just as Abraham did. 



ABRAHAM, THE MODEL OF FAITH. I I I 

She had a large family of children, and as they 
grew up they all became Christians, and joined the 
church. One day, the minister of the church to which 
she belonged, called to visit her. In the course of his 
conversation with her, he said: "My good friend, Mrs. 
Jones, what a happy woman you must be, to know that 
all your children have joined the church, and are trying 
to serve God !" 

"Yes," she replied, "I am very happy to think that 
all my children are Christians. And if I had a hun- 
dred, it would be the same with them all." 

"But how do you know that?" asked the minister. 

"I know it because of God's promise. The promise 
which God made to Abraham was — '/ will be a God 
to thee.' God made the same promise to me when 
I became a Christian. And He makes that promise 
to all His people. I believed God, just as Abraham 
did. And He has never failed to be a God to me. But 
then God promised at the same time, to be a God 
to Abraham's children, or seed, as well as to him- 
self. And God has made the same promise to me. 
I believe His promise, and He has fulfilled it by 
making my children all Christians." 

This good woman took God at His word. She had 
simple faith in Him, as Abraham had. 

Faith in Mother. Two little children, brother and 
sister, were going down-stairs to breakfast, one morn- 
ing. As they went slowly down, they were full of 
eager talk about what their mother had said to them. 
They were both under six years of age. The boy's 
name was Gershom, and his sister's name was 
Phcebe. 



I I 2 BIBLE MODELS. 

Gershom had been out walking with his mother the 
evening before. "Phoebe," said he, "only think; 
mother promised me last night, that if I'm a good 
boy till summer comes, she'll give me a nice big ship 
to sail on real water. Won't that be jolly?" 

"Yes, it will," said Phoebe. "And do you know 
Ma promised me, the other day, that if I be real good, 
for a month, and don't cry, when I am put to bed at 
nicrht, she'll give me a nice, new wax doll, with clothes 
to dress it in. Won't that be splendid?" 

These dear children had simple faith in their mother. 
They never thought for a moment that she would not 
keep her promises. Now it happened so, that though 
they did not see their mother at this time, she was 
near enough to hear what they said. As she listened 
to them she said to herself — "What faith these dear 
children have in my promises to them! I must be 
very careful to keep those promises! And if they 
have such faith in me, what faith should I have in 
God?" 

And then she lifted up her heart in prayer, and said : 
"O Heavenly Father teach me to have just this simple 
faith in Thee, and to believe every promise, given in 
thy holy word, for Jesus' sake, Amen." 

Hozv She Knew. A minister of the gospel was 
having service, every evening for a week, in his church. 
As he was going out of the church, after one of these 
services, he stopped to speak to a number of persons, 
who were waiting in the aisle. In passing from one 
to another of them, he noticed a dear little girl, about 
seven years of age, who sat at the end of one of the 
pews, waiting for her mother, who was in another part 



ABRAHAM, THE MODEL OF FAITH. I 1 3 

of the church. She was a sweet, interesting-looking 
child. The minister stopped near this girl, and look- 
ing her in the face, said: "Are you a Christian, my 
child?" 

''Yes, sir," she answered, with a smile. 

"And how long have you been a Christian?" he 
asked. 

"Since last night, sir. I heard you preach here. 
What you said, made me feel that I was a great sinner. 
When I got home, I went up to my room. Then I 
kneeled down and told the Lord Jesus about my sins. 
I asked Him to forgive them, and give me a new 
heart, and save me. And He heard me, and saved 
me then ; and now, I cannot tell you how happy I 
feel." 

"But how do you know that Jesus heard you, and 
saved you ?" asked the minister. 

The little girl seemed puzzled for a moment, and 
then, as a sweet smile lighted up her face, she said, 
"I know he did, because he has promised to do 
it, in the Bible, and I am sure 'he cannot break his 
promise! " 

That, was simple faith indeed. It was just like the 
faith of Abraham. And this is the kind of faith we 
should try to have. The first model point about Abra- 
ham's faith, which we should try to imitate, is — that 
it was a simple faith. 

The second thing about the faith of Abraham, 
which is a good model for us to imitate, is that it 
was — an obedient-^/2zz'//z. It led him to do whatever 
God told him to do. And our faith is good for nothing, 
unless it leads us to be like Abraham in this respect. 



114 BIBLE MODELS. 

Some of the things that God told Abraham to do were 
very hard, and yet his faith led him to go straight on 
and do them. One of the hard things that God told 
Abraham to do, was to leave his own country, and his 
father's house, to go and live among strangers, in a 
country that was far away from all his friends and re- 
lations. God did not tell Abraham to do this just on 
purpose that he might have something that was hard 
to do. This is not God's way of dealing with His 
people. When He tells us to do anything, He 
always has a good reason for it. And so it was here. 
God had a very good reason for telling Abraham to 
go out from his own country, and to leave forever 
all his friends and relations. And this was the reason ; 
it was to keep Abraham and his family from becoming 
idolaters. The fact was, that all the people then living 
in that part of the world, were giving up the worship 
of the true God, and learning to worship idols. Abra- 
ham's relations were doing this also. And God knew 
that if he stayed there among his own relations, the 
great danger was that he would follow their example, 
and become an idolator like them. Now it was very 
important that there should be at least one family 
in the world, amon? which the knowledge of the true 
God should be kept up, and which should worship Him 
in the right way. And God had chosen Abraham's 
family to be the one which should do this. But, if 
Abraham remained in his own country, and among 
his relations, who were all becoming idolators, God 
saw that he would be likely to follow their example 
and also become an idolator. And this was the reason 
why God told him to leave his home, and friends, and 







ABRAHAM LEAVES HIS OWN COUNTRY. 



I I 6 BIBLE MODELS. 

go to a strange country. God knew that if Abraham 
and his family were in another country, among 
strangers, they would not be influenced as much by 
their example, as they were by the example of their 
own relations. And this was why God told Abraham 
to leave his home and friends, and o- into a foreign 
country. 

The country that Abraham lived in was called 
Chaldea. It was far away in the eastern part of the 
world. The country to which God wanted him 
to go and live in, was Canaan — the land where his 
descendants the Jews, afterwards lived. The journey 
from Chaldea to Canaan was very long. It was 
a difficult — a dangerous — and an expensive journey. 
But when God told Abraham to take it he did 
so. Neither the length of the journey, nor its dif- 
ficulties, its dangers, nor its expense, had any influ- 
ence in keeping him back from doing what God told 
him to do. Abraham's faith was an obedient faith. 
It led him to do, at once, what God told him to do. 
And we should try to imitate Abraham's faith, in this 
respect. Our faith will be good for nothing unless it 
leads us to obey God — and do whatever He tells us 
to do. Let us look at some examples of this kind 
of faith, that we may try to have faith just like it. 

Obedient Faith. It was a beautiful definition of 
this kind of faith which a little Sunday-school girl once 
gave. She was asked the question What is faith ? 
and this was her answer — "It is doing what God tells 
us to do, and asking no questions T . That was a beauti- 
ful answer. 

General Haveloek 's Faith. General Havelock was 



ABRAHAM, THE MODEL OF FAITH. I I '] 

one of the bravest soldiers in the English army; and 
he was as pious as he was brave. One time he was 
away from home, and engaged in some very difficult 
work. Some one asked his wife — where the General 
was, and what he was doing. Her answer was: "I 
don't know just where he is, or how he is employed ; 
but this I know, perfectly well : wherever he is — he is 
trusting in God and doing his duty!'' He had a faith 
like that of Abraham. It was an obedient faith. 

A Child 's Faith in her Father. The children of a 
Sunday-school were about to engage in the exercises 
of their anniversary. One part of these exercises was 
that each scholar was to take up a bouquet of flowers 
which was to be presented as a floral offering. In one 
of the classes, one of the bouquets had been lost. Of 
course there was one scholar in that class, who had no 
flowers to take up. It was too late to get another 
bouquet. The teacher went to the superintendent 
to ask what she had better do about it. 

Now, it happened, that the superintendent had two 
little girls of his own, in that class, named Jane and 
Carrie. After thinking over it for a moment, he said 
to the teacher, "Suppose you ask my Carrie to give 
up her bouquet, for the scholar who has none, and 
she and her sister can take up one between them." 
The teacher went back to her class, and asked Carrie 
to give up her bouquet for the scholar who had none. 
For a moment she felt disappointed at the thought of 
having no flowers of her own to take up. But looking 
up to her teacher, she asked: "Did father say that I 
was to do this?" "Yes, my child," replied her teacher, 
"that is what your father said." 



Il8 BIBLE MODELS. 

In a moment the flowers were given up. Here was 
Carrie's faith in her father showing itself to be an 
obedient faith. 

The Faith of the Fireman s Daughter. Some time 
ago, the cry of fire was raised in one of our public 
schools. Of course this was very alarming. The 
children were greatly frightened. They cried, and 
screamed in their terror, and rushed eagerly to the 
stairway, each one struggling to reach the door, and 
get out. In the crowd and pressure thus occasioned, 
several of the scholars had limbs broken, and were 
otherwise seriously injured. But, after awhile, it was 
found to be only a false alarm. There was really no 
fire. But amidst all this noise and confusion, there 
was one little girl, who never cried, or screamed, but 
remained quietly in her seat. 

When the alarm had passed away, and the wounded 
girls had been carried to their homes, and the exercises 
of the school had begun again ; the teacher, who had 
been greatly surprised at the conduct of this girl, said 
to her, " Mary, my child, tell me how it was that you 
were so still and quiet, and acted so differently from 
the rest of the girls, while the alarm of fire prevailed?" 
This was Mary's answer; and you will see how nicely 
it illustrates the point of the subject now before us. 

"Why, you see, Miss," said Mary, "my father is a 
fireman ; and he has often told me, that if ever there 
should be a cry of fire in the school, the best thing 
for me to do was to remain quiet in my seat; for I 
should be safer there than anywhere else. 

"I was dreadfully frightened when I heard the cry of 
fire. I wanted very much to scream, and run to the 



ABRAHAM, THE MODEL OF FAITH. 119 

stairway, as the other girls did. But I remembered 
what my father had said about it. I knew he under- 
stood what was safe better than I did. I had faith in 
my father ; and it was minding him that kept me quiet, 
when all the school was in an uproar." This is a very 
good illustration. It shows us that Mary's faith in her 
father was an obedient faith, like that of Abraham. 
It led her to remember what he had told her to do ; 
and when the right time came it led her to do it. And 
we see how her obedient faith proved a blessing to 
her. And if we have this kind of faith it will always 
have the same effect upon us. 

The third thing, about Abraham s faith, which is a 
model that we should try to imitate, is this — it was — a 

CONQUERING^/#zV/z. 

I mean by this that it was a faith which helped him 
to overcome the greatest difficulties. There was one 
great trial in Abraham's life, and the way in which he 
met it shows the conquering character of his faith. I 
refer here to the command which God gave him about 
offering his son Isaac as a sacrifice. 

This son had been promised to him, many years, 
before he was born. He was the son of his old age. 
God had promised him that Isaac's children should be 
very numerous, and become a great nation ; and that 
the Saviour of the world, and its greatest blessing, 
would be one of his descendants. We cannot wonder 
therefore, that, knowing all these things Abraham 
must have been very fond of Isaac. He must have 
loved him as few fathers ever loved a son. His 
heart was, as we say, "wrapped up" in Isaac. That 
any evil should happen to him ; and especially that he 



I 20 BIBLE MODELS. 

should die, while he was yet young, was a thought 
that never could have entered Abraham's mind. And 
yet God spoke to him, one day, and told him to take 
his son Isaac, whom he loved, and go to the land of 
Moriah, and offer him for a burnt sacrifice, on one 
of the mountains which He would show him! How 
terrible this must have seemed to Abraham ! For a 
father to kill his own son, — and that son one about 
whom God had given so many promises — why there 
was something dreadful, in the very thought of it. 
There never was a command given to any one, that 
was harder to obey, than this, which God gave to 
Abraham. If he had stopped to reason about it, he 
never could have done it in the world. But he did 
not stop to reason about it. No, "Abraham believed 
God." He felt sure that it was right to do anything 
that God told him to do. His faith conquered all the 
difficulties in his way, and he made up his mind, at 
once, just to do what God had told him to do. And 
rising up early the next morning, and taking Isaac, 
and two servants with him, he started to go to the 
mountain which God was to show him, there to offer up 
his darling Isaac as a burnt sacrifice. 

The apostle Paul tells us that in going on to do 
this, Abraham expected that God would raise Isaac 
from the dead, after he had been offered up as a 
sacrifice. 

It took him three days to reach the mountain where 
this sacrifice was to be offered. That must have been 
a sorrowful journey to Abraham. When they reached 
the place, Abraham left the two young men, his ser- 
vants, at the foot of the mountain, while he and Isaac 




ABRAHAM IS ABOUT TO SACRIFICE HIS SON ISAAC. 



122 BIBLE MODELS. 

went up to the top of the mountain by themselves. 
It may be he was afraid that the young men would 
have tried to prevent him from offering up Isaac, as a 
sacrifice. When he reached the top of the mountain, 
with Isaac, he built an altar, and laid the wood in 
order, upon it. Then he had to tell Isaac what God 
had sent him there to do. What a surprise it must 
have been to him! If Isaac had not been willing to 
let his father do, what he said God had told him to do, 
he could easily have prevented him ; for he must have 
been a young man of sixteen or eighteen years of age, 
while his father was a feeble old man. But he made 
no opposition. He let his father tie his hands, and 
lay him on the altar. Then Abraham took the knife 
to slay his son. But just then God called to him out 
of heaven, and told him to stop. He only wished to 
see if he was willing to obey such a command as He 
had given him. Then God gave him some blessed 
promises, about the coming Saviour of the world, as 
a reward for his conquering faith. Isaac was taken 
down from the altar. His bound limbs were loosed ; 
and a ram, that was caught by its horns, in a thicket 
near by, was offered up as a sacrifice in the place of 
Isaac. And here we see what a conquering faith it 
was that Abraham had ! 

We find persons still with this same kind of faith, 
and those who have it are always able to do great 
things. Here are some examples of what I mean. 

A Sailor s Conquering Faith. Some time ago, on 
board of one of our great ships of war, there was one 
sailor who was a Christian, and who was not ashamed 
to let it be known that he was so. Every evening he 



ABRAHAM, THE MODEL OF FAITH. 1 23 

used to go by himself, behind one of the big guns, and 
read the Bible, and then kneel down and pray. The 
other sailors laughed at him, and made fun of him. 
But still he went on. One evening, just as he was be- 
ginning to read his Bible, another sailor came quietly 
up to him, and asked if he might pray with him. This 
made the Christian sailor very glad. Then there were 
two instead of one, to read and pray every night. The 
other sailors continued to laugh at them, but they went 
steadily on. At last the captain of the ship heard of 
these two men. He sent for them to his cabin. He 
told them how glad he was to hear of the way in 
which they were trying to serve God, and encouraged 
them to go on. "I'll have a place curtained off for 
you, my lads, on the gun deck, where you can be 
entirely private; and I'll give strict orders that none 
of the men shall disturb you, while you are reading 
and praying." He did so. And after this nobody 
disturbed those praying men; but, one after another 
joined their company, till finally as many as thirty 
used to meet every evening, to hear God's word read, 
and to join in the prayer that followed it. 

The captain who did this was a wise and brave 
man. I wish I knew what his name was, that I might 
tell it out to his honor. Such a man deserves to be 
honored. And the noble sailor, who led on in this 
good work, was a man who had the same sort of con- 
quering faith that Abraham had. 

A Child's Faith. Willie was a little boy, about 
seven years old. His father was a drunkard, and his 
mother had a very hard time to get along. One day, 
in winter, Willie said — "Mother, can't I have a pair 



124 BIBLE MODELS. 

of new boots? my toes are all out of these. The 
snow gets in, and I feel awful cold." 

The tears came into his mother's eyes, as she said : 
"Well, Willie dear, I hope soon to be able to get you 
a new pair." After waiting for some days, Willie 
said: "Oh, mother, it's too bad! Can't I get some 
boots, somehow?" He stood thinking a moment, and 
then said: "Oh! I know what to do. I'll ask God to 
get them for me. Why didn't I think of that before?" 
Then he went up to his own little room, and knelt 
clown by his bed, and covering his face with his hands, 
he said: "O God, father drinks ; mother has no money; 
my feet get cold and wet ; I want some new boots. 
Please, Lord, get me a pair, for Jesus' sake. Amen." 

He said this prayer every day, and was waiting for 
an answer. Shortly after this, a kind Christian lady, 
who lived near them, called in one day and asked 
Willie to take a walk with her. Willie went. Pretty 
soon the lady saw Willie's toes coming out of his 
boots. She said: "Why, Willie, dear, look at your 
feet. They'll freeze. Why didn't you put on a better 
pair of boots?" "These are all I have, ma'am." 
"All you have! but why don't you get a new pair?" 
"Mother has no money, to get them with. But I've 
asked God to get me a new pair, and I'm waiting till 
He sends them." Tears filled the lady's eyes, as she 
led him into a shoemaker's shop, and had him fitted 
with a nice new pair of boots. This made Willie very 
glad, and he thanked the good lady for her kindness. 
As soon as he returned home, he went to his mother, 
and showing his new boots, said, "Look, mother, God 
has sent my boots. Mrs. Gray's money bought them, 



ABRAHAM, THE MODEL OF FAITH. 1 25 

but God heard me ask for them, and I suppose He 
told Mrs. Gray to get them for me." Then he kneeled 
down by his mother, and said, "O God I thank thee 
for these nice, new boots. Make me a good boy ; and 
take care of mother, for Jesus' sake. Amen." Wil- 
lie's faith was a conquering faith, like that of Abraham. 

The Tolling Bell — or Susie s Faith. Little Susie be- 
longed to a Sunday-school in a town in New England. 
She loved the school very much, and she took a special 
interest in the missionary meetings, which were often 
held during the week, in connection with the school. 

Some time ago, at the close of the school, one Sun- 
day, the superintendent gave notice that there was to 
be a missionary meeting, on the afternoon of the next 
Wednesday, when a native missionary from Africa 
would be present, and give an interesting account of 
the country from which he came, and of the missionary 
work that was going on there, and he hoped that as 
many of the scholars as could do so, would attend this 
meeting. Susie made up her mind that she would cer- 
tainly go, if she could. There was an "if" in the case, 
and she was not certain that she would be able to go. 
It seems that Susie's own mother was dead, and she 
had a step-mother, who was not always as kind to her, 
or as willing to oblige her, as her own mother would 
have been. Susie didn't know whether she would be 
allowed to go to this meeting. But she prayed, each 
day, that God would order things so that she might go. 

On Wednesday afternoon the church-bell began to 
ring for the meeting, at a quarter before two o'clock. 
As soon as Susie heard the bell she went to her 
mother and asked if she might go to the missionary 



126 BIBLE MODELS. 

meeting. The answer she got to this question was 
not a very pleasant one. It was this: "No; you'll 
do no such thing; but stay at home, and mind your 
work." 

Susie didn't pout, or cry, or tease. She knew that 
would do no good. But what was much better, she 
went up to her room, and kneeling down she prayed 
that, "if it were best for her to go to the meeting, God 
would cause the bell to keep on ringing till her mother 
was willing to let her go." That was a strange prayer 
to offer. Then Susie went about her work. It was a 
quarter before two when the bell began to ring. Two 
o'clock came and it went on rino-ino- — dino- — donor, 
cling, dong. A quarter past two came, and it went on 
ringing. Half past two came — and then a quarter of 
three, and it went on ding, dong still. Susie began 
to wonder what it could mean. She had never heard 
it ring so long at one time before. Just as she was 
thinking this, her mother came into the room, and said, 
"It seems to me that bell is never going to stop ring- 
ing. Susie, if" you think you can get ready in time, 
you might as well go to the meeting." "Oh, thank 
you, thank you," said Susie. She did get ready, and 
had a real good time at the meeting. But what was 
the meaning of the bell ringing so long ? Simply this. 
The sexton made a mistake about the time of the 
meeting. He thought it was to be at two o'clock, 
and so he began to ring the bell at a quarter of two. 
And when he had once begun to ring, he couldn't 
stop, but had to go on ringing till the meeting began. 
The apostle Paul tells us that "God makes all things 
work together for good" to His people. And here we 



ABRAHAM, THE MODEL OF FAITH. 12J 

see how He overrules even the mistakes of men to 
answer the prayers, and reward the faith of those who 
are trying to serve Him. Susie had a conquering 
faith, like that of Abraham. 

But there was one other thing about the faith of 
Abraham, in which he was a model for us to imitate. 
Abraham s faith was — a comforting— /«///£. 

When our Saviour was on earth, in speaking to the 
Jews, one day, he said: "Your father Abraham de- 
sired to see my day, and he saw it, and was glad." I 
suppose he referred here, to the promises that God 
gave him, after he had shown that he was quite will- 
ing to have offered up his son Isaac as a sacrifice, if 
God had not told him to stop. Then, as Abraham 
stood beside that altar, God told him about the great 
Saviour of the world, who was to be one of the de- 
scendants of Isaac. He told him what a blessing to 
the world that Saviour would be, when He came. 
Abraham believed what God told him, and this faith 
gave him comfort, or made him glad. His faith was 
to him like eyesight. This was what Jesus meant — 
when he said — "Abraham desired to see my day, and 
he saw it, and was glad." And it always makes 
people glad when they have faith in Jesus, or when 
they see Him as their Saviour. It is like the joy 
which God's people have in heaven. It is true, as 
the hymn says, that: — 

"A bleeding Saviour seen by faith, 
Gives joy like that above." 

This was what David meant, when he said: "Thou 
hast put gladness in my heart more than" — (the men 



128 BIBLE MODELS. 

of the world have) — "when their corn, and oil, and 
wine increase." It always has been true, it is true now, 
and it always will be true — that faith in Jesus, like that 
which Abraham had, is a comforting thing. It gives 
us the purest, and most satisfying joy which we can 
ever know in this world. Let us look at some illustra- 
tions of the comfort which this faith gives. 

Hold of Papas Hand. A little girl about six years 
old, was very fond of going to her father's office, and 
walking home with him at the close of the day. She 
came running in, one day, saying with a glad voice — 
"Papa, I've come to 'scort you home." "Very well, 
darling," said her father, "I'm very glad to have the 
pleasure of your company." She took my hand, he 
said, and we were soon on our way. "Now, Papa," 
she said, "let's play I was a poor blind girl. You must 
let me take tight hold of your hand, while you lead 
me along, and tell me how to go, and when to stop." 

So the merry blue eyes were shut tight, and I led 
her along saying — "Now, step up, and now step 
down." And pretty soon we reached home, and then 
throwing her arms around my neck, she said : "Wasn't 
that nice, Papa? and I never slipped once." 

"But," said her Mamma, "didn't you feel afraid, to 
go on in the dark, my darling?" 

A look of trusting love lighted up her face, as she 
replied — "Oh, no, Mamma! I had tight hold of Papa's 
hand, and / knezu he would take me safely over the 
hard places" 

This is a beautiful illustration of what faith in God 
is, and of the comfort which it gives. 

The Prayer of Faith. Two little girls, named Annie, 



I30 BIBLE MODELS. 

and Bessie, about six years old, were one day walking 
along the road in the country, when they saw, at some 
distance off, a number of cows, coming down the same 
road — "Annie," said Bessie, "I'm very much afraid 
of cows." "So am I," said Annie. "But, if we ask 
our Heavenly Father, to keep the cows from hurting 
us, He can do it, and then we needn't feel afraid. 
Let us kneel right down and ask Him." So they 
knelt down by the side of the road, and asked God 
to keep the cows from hurting them. Then they 
walked home in comfort. On reaching there they 
told their mother about it, and said that "God did 
keep the cows away, for they went by on the other 
side of the road, and did not come near us." 

The father of these little girls was not a Christian, 
and when he heard them telling their mother about it, 
the thought of their simple faith, and the comfort it 
gave them, brought the tears into his eyes, and led 
him to pray God to give him just the same kind of 
faith that these darling children had. 

A Wifes Comforting Faith. Some years ago, 
Major M., a distinguished officer of the army, and a 
man very much esteemed by all who knew him, had 
a long, and severe attack of sickness. He got so low 
at last, that his physician gave him up. His friends all 
expected him to die, and were greatly distressed at 
the thought of losing him. But while others were 
mourning over his expected death, his wife remained 
calm and even cheerful. A particular friend was 
astonished at her calmness, and said to her: "Mrs. M., 
how is it that you can be so composed, when your 
husband is so near the end of his life?" "My hus- 



ABRAHAM, THE MODEL OF FAITH. 1 3 1 

band will not die now," was her quiet answer. "But 
everybody thinks he will; and the doctor has given 
him up. Why do you think he is not going to die?" 
" My faith in God makes me think so. God has said, 
'Ask, and ye shall receive.' Now, I have asked God 
that he will not take my husband away, till he becomes 
a Christian, and gives evidence that he is ready to 
die. He has not yet given that evidence. And so I 
do not think he is going to die now." 

And it turned out just as she said. A change came 
over her husband's symptoms. He began to get 
better. He was restored to good health. He became 
an earnest Christian, and lived for years a useful, 
happy life. Now, what a comfort that good wife's 
faith in God was, at a time when nothing else in the 
world, could have been a comfort to her! 

I have just one other illustration of the comfort 
which true faith gives in time of danger. 

A ship was once tossing on the stormy sea. The 
violence of the storm had been so great that the ship 
had sprung a leak, and was rilling with water. The 
only hope for those on board was to get into the life- 
boats which the ship carried with her. These were 
hoisted over into the angry sea. They seemed like 
tiny things to look to for safety, in the midst of such 
a fearful storm. 

Among the first to venture into one of those little 
boats was a Christian mother. She had a child in 
her arms, and a little boy sitting by her side, and 
clinging to her dress. She did not cry or scream. 
The child in her arms was asleep, notwithstanding 
the storm; and the little boy at her side was quiet. 



I32 BIBLE MODELS. 

A gentleman, one of the passengers, was surprised 
to see the little fellow so quiet, and said: "Are you 
not afraid of the storm, my boy?" "I don't like the 
storm a bit," said the boy; "but mother is here, and 
I never feel afraid where she is." Thus his faith in 
his mother gave him comfort. And then looking at 
the mother, the gentleman asked, "And are you not 
afraid, my friend?" She shook her head; and then 
pointing upwards, she said: "God is ruling this storm, 
sir. He is my Father. He will not let the storm 
hurt me; and so I do not feel afraid." Her voice, 
as she spoke, could hardly be heard, amidst the howl- 
ing of the winds, the roaring of the waves. But the 
gentleman was very much struck with the faith of the 
child in his mother, and the faith of the mother in her 
God. He was not a Christian, and had no such faith 
as this in God. But he saw how much comfort this 
good woman found from her child-like faith in God. 
He never forgot that Christian mother's faith. The 
boats reached land in safety. And he was led to pray 
for the grace that would make him a Christian, and 
help him to exercise the same comforting faith in God. 
Let us remember the four model points in Abra- 
ham's faith, of which we have spoken. It was a simple 
faith — an obedient faith — a conquering faith — and a 
comforting faith. Let us pray earnestly that God may 
give us the same kind of faith that Abraham had ; 
for, if we have this, it will be sure to make us useful 
and happy Christians. 



MOSES, THE MODEL OF FAITHFULNESS. 



'Moses was faithful." — Hebrews iii : 2. 




i are told that Moses was the meekest 
man on earth. (Numbers xii : 3.) We 
might have taken him as the model of 
meekness. That would have made a 
good subject. I was uncertain at first 
which of these two models to take. But I think the 
one chosen, is the more important of the two. This 
includes the other; but the other does not necessarily 
include this. Moses might have been meek, without 
being faithful; but he could not have been faithful 
without being meek. And so I thought it was best 
on the whole, to take Moses as the model of faith- 
fulness. And we may speak of four ways in which 
he was faithful. 

In the fii r st place, he zvas — faithful to God. 
This is the right place for faithfulness to begin. It 
is impossible for us to be faithful to ourselves, or to 
others, till we are faithful to God. If the mainspring 
of your watch is broken, it is impossible for it to keep 
time. You may wind it up, ever so often, but it will 




MOSES HIDDEN BY HIS MOTHER IN AN ARK OP BULRUSHES. 



136 BIBLE MODELS. 

run down, at once, and then stand still. The watch 
is of no use until you get a new mainspring in it. 
Now, if we compare ourselves to watches, we are 
like watches with the mainspring broken. The only 
thing to do, in such a case, is to get a new mainspring. 
And this is what Jesus came into the world to do for 
us. Sinful hearts are like broken mainsprings. And 
when Jesus gives us new hearts, it is like putting 
new mainsprings into the broken watches. And when 
this is done the first effect it will have upon us will be 
to make us like Moses, faithful to God. 

We see this illustrated in the apostle Paul, when 
his heart was changed by the vision which he had of 
Jesus, on the way to Damascus. Then a new mainspring 
was put in the broken watch of his sinful soul. And 
it began to work in just the way of which we are 
speaking, by making him faithful to God. The first 
question that he asked, after this great change had 
taken place, was, "Lord, what wilt T/iou have me to 
do?" This was the case with Moses. There he is 
at the burning bush, near Mount Sinai, in the wilder- 
ness. God appears to him, in the flames of that 
bush. He tells him that He wants him to go back to 
Egypt. When he gets there he must go into the 
presence of King Pharaoh, and demand of him that 
he shall let the children of Israel go out from their 
bondage in Egypt. And then He told Moses, that 
He wanted him to lead the Israelites through the 
wilderness, to the land of Canaan, which He had 
promised to them. Now, this was the hardest work 
that ever a man was called upon to do. Moses 
knew how hard it would be. We need not wonder 




PHARAOH'S DAUGHTER AND THE INFANT MOSES. 



138 BIBLE MODELS. 

therefore to find, that at first, he tried to get excused 
from enCTamnor in this work. But when he found that 
this was really what God wanted him to do, he stopped 
making excuses, and went bravely on to do just what 
God told him to do. In this, he showed his faith- 
fulness to God. And then, for forty long years, he 
went on, through scenes of the greatest difficulty and 
trial, doing the work that God had given him to do, 
and thus showing himself as a model of faithfulness 
to God. And this is the model that we must try to 
follow. 

If we learn to love the Saviour, and become Chris- 
tians, this is the first thing that we shall seek to do. 
We shall strive, above all things, to be faithful to 
God, as Moses was. 

Here are some illustrations of the way in which 
this kind of faithfulness will show itself. 

A Worthy Example. We have all heard of Jenny 
Lind, the famous Swedish singer. Here is a good 
story, which shows her faithfulness to God. On one 
occasion, when she was in Stockholm, the capital of 
Sweden, the King was going to have a musical festival 
at his palace on the Sabbath day. He sent an invita- 
tion to this great singer to come and take part in 
these exercises. But she declined the invitation. Then 
the King waited on her in person, and commanded 
her to come to his entertainment. This was a very 
high honor, for a king to show to one of his subjects. 
Most persons would have gone, under these circum- 
stances. But Jenny Lind still begged to be excused. 
And when the King asked for her objections she said : 

"Please your majesty, I have a greater king in 




MOSES HEARS A VOICE OUT OP THE BURNING BUSH. 



I40 BIBLE MODELS. 

heaven to whom I must be faithful. I cannot do what 
your majesty desires, without breaking the command- 
ment of my Heavenly King, and offending Him. So 
please excuse me for declining to do what your 
majesty wishes." 

That was noble. Few persons would have had the 
courage to show their faithfulness to God under such 
circumstances, as brave Jenny Lind did. 

The Conscientious Hair-Di'esser. In the city of 
Bath, England, during the last century, lived a hair- 
dresser, who was not a religious man, and who was 
in the habit of keeping his shop open on Sunday. 
But in the course of time a change came over him, 
and he became a Christian. Then he was greatly 
troubled at the thought of breaking the fourth com- 
mandment by working on Sunday. He went and 
talked with his minister about it. He urged him to 
give up the practice, as he could not expect God's 
blessing to follow him while he continued to do this. 
The man said he was sure his trade would be ruined 
if he gave up his Sunday work. But finding that he 
could have no peace or comfort, while he went on 
in this way, he finally made up his mind to do his 
duty, and be faithful to God, whatever the result 
might be. 

He gave up his Sunday work, and went regularly 
to church. The result was just as he feared. His 
genteel customers left him, and his business fell off, 
so that he was obliged to give up his fashionable shop, 
and finally he had to take a cellar, under the market- 
house, and shave people of the poorest class. 

One Saturday evening, about dark, a gentleman 



MOSES, THE MODEL OF FAITHFULNESS. I4I 

from one of the stage coaches, in which the travelling 
was done, before the days of railways, asked for a 
hair-dresser, and was directed by the hostlers to the 
cellar opposite. Coming in hastily, he asked to be 
shaved quickly, while they were changing the horses, 
as he did not like to break the Sabbath day. This 
touched the poor barber in a tender spot, and he burst 
into tears, as he asked the stranger to lend him a 
penny to buy a candle with, as it was too dark to 
shave him with safety, and he had not a penny in the 
world. 

He gave him the penny, wondering to himself how 
poor the man must be ! When he was shaved he said 
to the barber, "There must be something strange in 
your history, which I should like to hear, when I come 
back. But I have no time now. Here is half a 
crown for you. What is your name?" 

"My name," said the astonished barber, "is William 
Read." 

"William Read," said the stranger; "and what part 
of England are you from?" 

"From Kingston, near Taunton." 

"What was your father's name?" 

"Thomas Read." 

"Had he any brothers?" 

"Yes, sir, one, after whom I was named; but he 
went to the East Indies, and as we have never heard 
from him, we suppose he must be dead." 

"Come along with me," said the stranger; "your 
uncle is dead, and has left a large fortune, which I 
will put in your possession, as soon as you prove the 
truth of what you have just said." 



I42 BIBLE MODELS. 

He was able to give the proof required, and then 
his uncle's large fortune came into his possession. 

Now see how strangely God's providence worked, 
to bring about this result! It was this man's faith- 
fulness to God, which brought him into the way of the 
lawyer, who had charge of this fortune. If he had 
not been so poor, that he had not a penny with which 
to buy a candle, he might never have heard of, or 
received that fortune. But he was faithful to God, 
and God blessed him for his faithfulness ; and this is 
what He will always do. 

Moses was faithful to God. This is the first point 
in the model he has left us. We should try to follow 
his example here. 

The second point to notice in this model is, — that 
Moses was — faithful to himself. 

He refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's 
daughter. He chose rather to suffer affliction with 
the people of Christ, than to enjoy the pleasures of 
sin for a season. He considered the reproach he bore 
for Christ, greater riches than the treasures of Egypt. 
He looked away from Egypt, with its wealth, its honors 
and its pleasures, and desired to secure a share in 
the riches and honors of God's heavenly kingdom. 
And these two things, faithfulness to God, and faith- 
fulness to ourselves, always go together. We cannot 
be faithful to ourselves, till we are faithful to God. If 
we refuse to become Christians, we are doing our- 
selves the greatest harm. This is what God means 
when he says: "All they that hate me, love death." 
Prov. viii : 36. But when we begin to be faithful to 
God, and to ourselves, then we are putting ourselves 







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MOSES AND AARON BEFORE KING PHARAOH. 



144 BIBLE MODELS. 

in the way of all good. God says to us, "From this 
day will I bless you." Haggai ii : 19. 

Let us look at some examples of this kind of faith- 
fulness, and of the blessing that follows it. 

Brave Ben. "A Boy Wanted" — was the notice put 
up in the window of a nice-looking country hotel. A 
boy named Ben, read it, and said to himself, "I wonder 
if I would do for that place? I must do something 
to earn money, or how will pogr mother be able to 
live? I guess I'll step in, and ask about it." 

So Ben went in. It was the first time he had ever 
been in a bar-room. The place looked neat and clean, 
and there were no drunken men about. But the 
smell of the place was sickening, and Ben's heart 
sank within him, at the thought of living in such a 
place. The keeper of the house was a good-natured, 
pleasant-looking German. In payment for his services, 
he offered Ben his board, and such sums of money as 
he could make by holding the horses of travelers, who 
stopped to get a drink, and by doing little jobs for 
them. And then in return for these privileges, he was 
to make himself generally useful about the place, and 
in the absence of the master, he was to pour out 
drinks from the glittering bottles, to any poor wretches 
who could pay for them. 

"Well, now," said the proprietor, after giving Ben 
this account of what he expected of him, "you have 
heard what I want you to do ; are you ready to begin 
work?" 

"Give me a few minutes to think over it," said Ben, 
"and I'll make up my mind one way or the other." 

"Well, you may think about it, but I get plenty more 




PHARAOH AND HIS ARMY. 



I46 BIBLE MODELS. 

boys, if you not like it," said the German, a little 
angry, and speaking" somewhat brokenly, as he always 
did at such times. 

Ben said nothing more, but went out to the pump 
to get a drink; and then he sat down on a grassy 
bank to think the matter over. 

"What would mother think of my having a place 
in a bar-room? I dare say I could make a good deal 
of money; but would she be willing to use money 
made in this way? Then," continued Ben, "what 
would God think of it? Is there not somewhere in the 
Bible, a curse pronounced on him who putteth the 
bottle to his neighbor's lips? And if I get used to 
selling liquor to others, might it not end in my learning 
to drink myself? No, I can't think of taking such a 
place as this," said Ben to himself. Then he returned 
to the tavern. 

The proprietor stood on the porch. 

"Well, boy, what you think of my offer?" he in- 
quired. "I think I can't take the place," said Ben, 
boldly. "I want work very much, but there are three 
reasons why I am not willing to do this sort of work. 
One is, that God would not like it. Another is, my 
mother would not like it. And then I don't like it 
myself. I am afraid it might end in my becoming a 
drunkard. Good morning, sir." 

Ben walked away, leaving the German much puzzled 
to make out what the boy meant. But there was 
another person present, who understood him perfectly. 
A gentleman had driven up in a buggy, to inquire the 
way to the next town. He was much pleased with 
Ben's answer to the tavern-keeper. He overtook 



MOSES, THE MODEL OF FAITHFULNESS. 1 47 

him, and invited him to take a ride in his bug^v, as 
he wished to have a talk with him. 

Ben got in, and the gentleman said: "My boy, I 
honor you for refusing to work in a bar-room ; and 
on that account you will be just the boy for me. I 
want a clerk that I can trust, and a boy who is faith- 
ful to God, faithful to his mother, and faithful to his 
own conscience, is the kind of boy that I want." 

Then he named a very generous sum, that he was 
willing to give, and Ben went home to his mother that 
day about as happy as a boy could be. 

/ Cant Afford It. "Just come and work awhile in 
my garden, on Sunday mornings, will you, Jim?" said 
a working-man, with his pick-axe over his shoulder, 
to an old hedger, who was working on a thick hedge. 

Jim took off his cap and made a bow to the speaker, 
and then said: "No, master, I can't afford it." 

"Oh! I don't want you to do it for nothing. I'll 
pay you well for the work." 

"Thank you, master, but I can't afford it." 

"Why, man, it will put something in your pocket, 
and I don't think you are too well off." 

"That's true; and that's the reason why I say I can't 
afford it." 

"Can't afford it! Why, surely, you don't under- 
stand me." 

"Yes, I do; but I'm not quick of speech. Please 
don't snap me up, and I'll tell you what I mean. It's 
very true, as you say, that I'm not well off in this 
world. But I've a blessed hope of being better off, 
in the world to come. My Lord and Saviour has said, 
' I go to prepare a place for you, that where I am there 



I48 BIBLE MODELS. 

ye may be also.' I learned that text more than twenty 
years ago, and it has been a great comfort to me." 

"Well, but what's that got to do with your saying 
in answer to my offer — 'I can't afford it?'" 

"Why, no offence to you, sir, but it's got all to do 
with it. If I lose my hope in that better land, I lose 
everything. My Saviour says I must keep the Sab- 
bath day holy. If I break His command I shall not 
be prepared for the place He is preparing for me. 
And then all my hope is gone. And this is what I 
mean by saying, 'I can't afford it.'" That was noble 
in the poor hedger. It showed that he was trying to 
be faithful to his God, and faithful to himself. 

Moses was a model of faithfulness — he was faithful 
to himself Let us try to imitate the model he has set 
in this respect. 

But in the third place, Moses was — faithful to his 
family. And here he was a good model for us to 
follow. 

It was through the influence of Moses that his 
brother Aaron became the high priest of the Jewish 
Church, and his sister Miriam led the people in the 
praises of God. We have one of the hymns she 
taught the people to sing, when the Egyptians were 
drowned in the Red Sea, and the Israelites were won- 
derfully delivered. We read (Exod. xv : 20, 21), "And 
Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a 
timbrel in her hand ; and all the women went after 
her with timbrels and dances. And Miriam answered 
them, Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed 
gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown 
into the sea." 



150 BIBLE MODELS. 

Moses was not satisfied to go to heaven himself, 
but he tried to get all his family to go with him. 
Hobab, his father-in-law, lived in the wilderness, near 
Mount Sinai; and when the Israelites came to that 
part of the country, on their journey to the promised 
land, he came to visit his son-in-law. Moses took 
advantage of that opportunity to persuade Hobab to 
go with them. He said to him — "We are journeying 
unto the place of which the Lord said, I will give 
it you; come thou with us, and we will do thee 
good." Numb, x : 29. And so he persuaded him to 
go along with them. Here we see what a model he 
was of faithfulness to his family. And if we try to 
imitate this point of the model he has left us, we shall 
be blessings to our families, as he was to his. Here 
are some illustrations of the way in which this may 
be done. 

A Faithful Aunt. A Sunday-school teacher was 
talking to one of her scholars, who had joined the 
church. "Nellie," she said, " tell me whose preaching 
it was that led you to become a Christian." 

"It was nobody's preaching," was the pleasant, 
smiling reply; "but it was Aunt Mary s practising!' 
The life that faithful aunt had led before her, was the 
means of leading her to the Saviour. It was not what 
the aunt had said — but what she had done — her faith- 
fulness to her family — her consistent example, which 
had been the means of her niece's conversion. 

A Faithful Mother. The Bishop of Manchester, 
in England, was giving the prizes one day to the 
scholars, in a school with which he is connected. A 
large number of the parents and friends of the scholars 



MOSES, THE MODEL OF FAITHFULNESS. 151 

were present. They all knew and loved the Bishop, 
as a good, and learned, and very useful man. In the 
midst of their exercises, as he stood surrounded by 
the scholars, the good Bishop was led to speak of his 
mother. 

"She was a widow," said he, "with some children 
to support and educate. God helped her to be faith- 
ful. She sacrificed her own ease and comfort for the 
good of her children. Her home was a poor one. 
She had to struggle hard for our support. But she 
managed to make that home the brightest and the 
happiest place to us. Her children, through her faith- 
ful efforts, have since risen to positions of honor and 
usefulness, where they are helping to make the world 
better. She is now," said the Bishop, and here his 
voice was broken with deep feeling — "She is now 
living in my house, paralyzed, speechless, helpless, 
but every time I look at her dear face, I thank God 
for giving me such a mother. All that I am, and all 
that I have I owe to her." 

There was hardly a dry eye in that assembly, while 
the Bishop was uttering these touching words. That 
was a faithful mother, indeed. 

Minding Orders. Frederic II., King of Prussia, 
used to rise very early in the morning. He gave 
strict orders to his servants to wake him at four 
o'clock in the morning, and not on any account to let 
him sleep later than that. He had a new servant once, 
who had been told all this about waking up the king 
in the morning, and not letting him sleep any longer. 
The king wished to find out if this man would be 
faithful in minding the orders that had been given him. 



152 BIBLE MODELS. 

So the next morning at the appointed hour, this 
new servant came to the king's bed, and awoke him, 
and telling him that it was time to get up. 

"Let me sleep a little longer," said the king, "for 
I am still very tired." 

"Your majesty gave me positive orders to wake 
you at just this hour," said the servant. 

"Very well," said the king, "but just let me sleep 
a quarter of an hour more." 

"Not another minute," said the servant; "it has 
struck four o'clock. You ordered me to insist on your 
majesty's rising at this hour; and I must mind my 
orders." 

"Very well," said the king, "now I know that you 
are a faithful servant. If you had not minded your 
orders I should have dismissed you, at once, from my 
service. But now I feel that I can rely upon you. 
And so long as you continue faithful you may be sure 
of your situation." 

The Faithful Servant. George and Harry were 
neighbors, and worked in the same shop. But sum- 
mer season had come when work was slack. And 
Mr. Wilson, their employer, as he paid them their 
wages one Saturday night, told them that he should 
only have work for one of them at present. He said 
they might both come on Monday morning, and he 
would make up his mind in the mean time, which of 
them should have the work. 

On their way home Harry counted over the wages 
paid him, and then said to his friend, "Why, George, 
Mr. Wilson has paid me a quarter of a dollar more 
than I am entitled to." Then George looked over his 




MOSES STRIKES WATER PROM THE ROCK AT HOREB. 



154 BIBLE MODELS. 

money, and found that he also had a quarter too 
much. 

"I wonder what it means," said Harry. 

"That question is easily answered," replied George. 
"Mr. Wilson was very busy when he settled with us, 
and in his hurry he just gave us a little too much." 

"Well, I mean to go right straight back and return 
my quarter to him." 

"You'll be very foolish if you do any such thing," 
said George. "What's such a trifle as a quarter to a 
rich man like Mr. Wilson ? And I'm sure you have 
worked hard enough for all the money you've got, 
and more too. You can do as you please ; but I'm 
going to keep my extra quarter." 

"I remember one place in the Bible," answered 
Harry, "where it says: 'He that is faithful in that which 
is least, is faithful also in much; and he that is unjust 
in the least, is unjust also in much.' (Lukexvi: 10.) 
I want to be faithful," said Harry, "and I'll take it 
backat once." He did so ; while George put his 
quarter in his pocket and went home. 

Mr. Wilson was very much pleased with Harry for 
bringing back the extra quarter, and thanked him 
warmly for it. Now it happened that this matter of 
the extra quarters given to these boys, was not an 
oversight, or mistake. Mr. Wilson wished to try the 
honesty, or faithfulness of these two boys ; and he 
took this way of doing it. When the two boys came 
to him on the next Monday morning, he had no dif- 
ficulty in deciding which of them to keep in his 
employ. He chose Harry, because he was sure that 
he was faithful. He entrusted the shop to his care 



MOSES, THE MODEL OF FAITHFULNESS. 1 55 

for several months, while he was away on business, 
and was so well pleased with his management, that 
when the busy season came on in the fall, he made 
him superintendent of his shop. And, in the course 
of time, Harry became Mr. Wilson's partner, while 
George worked on in the same shop, but only as a 
common laborer. A character for faithfulness is one 
of the surest elements of success in any position. 
And there is no telling how much good we may do, 
by setting the example of faithfulness before us, and 
following it. 

And then, there is one other thing about this model 
to speak of. Moses was not only faithful to God — to 
himself — and to his family ; — but he was faithful — in 

ALL THINGS. 

It says, in connection with our text, that he — "was 
faithful in all his house." This does not mean only 
his own family, but the whole house of Israel. Moses 
was, as it were, the head, and father of the Jewish 
Church and nation. And he was faithful to them all. 
He tried, by all the. means in his power, to teach 
them, and guide them, and do them good. We have 
an account of his faithfulness to his people in the 18th 
chapter of Exodus. There we read how he used to 
spend his whole time, from morning till night, in listen- 
ing to their complaints ; in settling their disputes ; and 
in trying to do them good. When his father-in-law 
came to visit him, in the wilderness, he was frightened 
when he saw how much work Moses was doing. He 
told him that he would kill himself, if he kept on 
working at that rate. And then he persuaded him 
not to work so hard, but to get some of the people 



156 BIBLE MODELS. 

to help him in this work. But this shows us how 
faithful he was to all about him. And we should try 
to imitate the model that Moses sets us here. We 
should be faithful to everybody. Let us look at some 
illustrations of this kind of faithfulness. 

Faithfulness and its Reward. Fred Harris was a 
boot-black boy in the city of London. His mother 
was a widow, and they lived in a garret up a dirty 
alley. Mr. Harris, her husband was a merchant, very 
well off, when she married him. But he afterwards 
became intemperate, and failed in business. When 
he died he left his family in utter poverty. They had 
to struggle very hard for a living. Mrs. Harris took 
in sewing, and Fred went out every day with black- 
ing-brushes, and in this way they tried their best to 
support themselves. 

One day Fred was standing at the corner of the 
street, looking out for a job. "Black your boots, sir?" 
he cried out to a gentleman, who was passing along 
the busy street. "Well, yes, you may," said the 
gentleman, as he stopped and placed his foot on the 
box. 

When Fred had finished his work, the gentleman 
gave him sixpence, which was more than the regular 
price, and told him he might keep the change. 
"Thank you, sir," said Fred, taking off his cap, and 
making a polite bow. Then he put away his brushes, 
and just as he had done this, he saw a pocket-book 
lying on the ground, near where the gentleman had 
stood. Feeling sure that he had dropped it, while 
getting his boots blacked, he picked it up and ran 
off in the direction in which the gentleman had gone, 





MOSES DESCENDS THE MOUNTAIN WITH THE TABLES OF LAW. 



158 BIBLE MODELS. 

in the hope of overtaking him, and of giving him 
back his pocket-book. But it was too late ; he could 
see nothing of him. All that day he was thinking of 
this pocket-book, and kept a sharp lookout for the 
owner, that he might return it to him. But he never 
came in sight. When Fred reached home that night, 
he told his mother about the pocket-book he had 
found, and handed it to her. She opened it, and 
found the name of the owner in it — "Mr. J. Erskine, 
Merchant, 52 Queen Street." And on looking further, 
she found a fifty pound note. That was about two 
hundred and fifty dollars of our money. 

"Why, Fred," she exclaimed, "here's a fifty pound 
note. We must return it at once to the gentleman 
whose name is here. It's too late to go to-night, and 
we shall have to put it off till the morning." 

Fred was up next morning bright and early. He 
put on his best clothes, and after breakfast started 
with his mother, for the gentleman's place of business 
in Queen Street. On arriving there they asked for 
Mr. Erskine, and were shown into a room to wait for 
him, as he was then engaged. In a little while he 
came in, and Fred recognized him in a moment, as 
the gentleman whose shoes he had blackened the day 
before. Going up to Mrs. Harris he said: 

"Well, ma'am, what can I do for you?" 

"I came sir, to return your lost pocket-book, which 
my son found yesterday." 

"Have you got it with you?" 

"Yes, sir," replied Mrs. Harris, handing the book 
to him. He opened it and found the note inside, and 
everything in its place. This satisfied him that the 



MOSES, THE MODEL OF FAITHFULNESS. 1 59 

mother and her son were honest and faithful. Look- 
ing at Fred, he said, "Surely I have seen you before, 
my man?" "Yes, sir," he replied, "I brushed your 
boots, yesterday morning. I found the pocket-book, 
just after you left, and ran after you to return it, but 
you were out of sight." 

Mr. Erskine asked Fred if he would not like a place 
in his office. He said he would, very much. Then 
he gave Mrs. Harris money enough to get Fred a 
nice new suit of clothes, and told her to send him to 
his office early the next morning. Fred got his new 
clothes, and was at the office in good time the next 
morning. He was industrious and faithful. This 
ensured his success. He was soon able to get a 
nice comfortable home for his mother, and to support 
her by his own wages. He afterwards became the 
head clerk to Mr. Erskine ; and when he died he left 
his business in Fred's hands, and he got to be a rich 
man. This was all the result of God's blessing on 
his faithfulness. 

Here is a good story about a boy who was faithful 
in all things. He was a little Scotch boy, who came 
over to this country to live with his uncle, Mr. Lee. 
His name was Willie Grant. Willie found two cousins 
in his uncle's family, Robert and Johnnie Lee, abput 
his own age. They soon became very fond of their 
Scotch cousin. He was little, but bright and full of 
fun. He could tell curious stories about his home in 
Scotland, and his voyage across the ocean. He was 
just about as far advanced in his studies as his cousins 
were, and the first day he went to school with them, 
they thought him a remarkably good scholar. He 



l6o BIBLE MODELS. 

wasted no time in play, when he ought to be studying, 
and he recited finely. At night, before the school 
closed, the teacher called a roll, and every boy who 
could say that he had not whispered in school during 
the day, when his name was called would answer — 
"ten" — and that would be his mark for the day. When 
Willie's name was called, he was asked if he had 
whispered during the day? "I have," he replied. 

"How often?" asked the teacher. 

"Some eight or ten times," was the answer. 

"Then I must mark you zero," said the teacher, 
sternly, "and that is considered a great disgrace." 

When they were going home, his cousin Johnnie 
said to him, "Why, Willie, I didn't see you whisper." 

"Well, I did," said Willie; "I saw others doing it, 
and so I asked to borrow a book ; then I lent a slate- 
pencil, and asked a boy for a knife, and did several 
such things. I supposed that was allowed." 

"Oh! we all do that," said Robbie, blushing. "There 
isn't any sense in the old rule. Nobody can keep it, 
and nobody does." "Well, I will for one," said Willie, 
"or else I'll say so. Do you suppose that I'm going 
to tell half a dozen lies, all in a heap?" 

"Oh! we don't call them lies," said Johnnie. "None 
of us would have had a good mark to-night, if we had 
been as particular as you are." 

"Well, what of that, if you had all told the truth?" 
laughed Willie, bravely. 

In a short time the boys in the school all got to un- 
derstand little Willie Grant. And they all loved him. 
He studied hard; he played with all his might in play- 
time ; and yet, because he was so faithful in telling the 



MOSES, THE MODEL OF FAITHFULNESS. l6l 

truth, he got fewer good marks than any of them. He 
never preached to the boys, or told tales about them ; 
but it often made them feel ashamed, when they saw 
how faithful he was in always telling the truth himself, 
whether he got good marks or not. They often talked 
about him; they all loved him, and because he was 
so firm in telling the truth, they nicknamed him — 
"Little Scotch Granite!' 

Well, at the close of the session, when the list of 
marks was read over, Willie's was so low, that he 
could hardly keep from crying, for he was very sensi- 
tive, and he wanted to stand high on the list. 

After reading the list over, the teacher made a short 
speech. "Boys," said he, "I have a little gold medal 
to give, before we break up. And I wish to give it, 
not to the boy who has the largest number of good 
marks on my list, but to the one among you who has 
been the most faithful in all his duties, and the most 
truthful in telling about them. And I want you to let 
me know who ought to have this medal?" 

In a moment, more than forty boys cried out — 
"Little Scotch Granite! Little Scotch Granite!" 

Willie got the medal, and went home feeling very 
happy that day. He had been faithful all through the 
session, and he had his reward, not only in the gold 
medal that hung round his neck, but in the good 
opinion of his fellow scholars, and in the respect, and 
confidence of his teacher. 

Now, we have spoken of four good points in the 
model that Moses has left us. He was faithful to 
God ; faithful to himself ; faithful to his family ; and 
faithful in all things. Let us try to follow this model. 



I 62 BIBLE MODELS. 

Then we shall be faithful, and God will bless us, and 
make us blessings to all about us. 

I will close this sermon with some simple lines. The 
heading to them is — "The best that I can do." 

And if we try to follow them they will lead us, like 
Moses, to be faithful in all things. 

These are the lines : — 

THE BEST THAT I CAN DO. 

"I cannot do much," said a little star, 
"To make the dark world bright ! 
My silvery beams cannot struggle far, 

Through the folding gloom of night ; 
But I'm only a part of God's great plan, 
And I'll cheerfully do the best I can." 

" What is the use," said a fleecy cloud, 
' ' Of these few drops that I can hold ? 
They will hardly bend the lily proud 
Though caught in her cup of gold ! 
But I am a part of God's great plan, 
So my treasures I'll give, as well as I can !" 

A child went merrily forth to play, 

But a thought, like a silver thread, 
Kept winding in and out all day, 

Through the happy golden head ; 
Mother said, " Darling, do all you can, 
For you are a part of God's great plan !" 

She knew no more than the glancing star, 

Nor the cloud, with its chalice full, 
How, why, and for what, all strange things were — 

She was only a girl at school ! 
But she thought, "It's a part of God's great plan 
That even I should do all that I can." 



164 



BIBLE MODELS. 



So she helped a younger child along, 
When the road was rough to its feet, 

And she sang from her heart a little song 
That we all thought passing sweet, 

And her father, a toil-worn, weary man, 

Said, "I, too, will do the best that I can !" 

Our best ! Ah, children, the best of us 

Must hide our faces away, 
When the Lord of the vineyard comes to look 

At our tasks at the close of day ! 
But, for strength from above, 'tis the Master's plan, 
We'll pray, and we'll do the best that we can. 




JOSEPH, THE MODEL REALIZER OF 
GOD'S PRESENCE. 




"How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin 
against God?" — Genesis xxxix : 9. 



>HESE were the words of Joseph when he 
was tempted to do what was wrong. He 
was one of the best, and greatest men 
of whom we read in the Bible. And one 
of the chief things that helped to make 
him so good, and great, was the constant sense he had 
of God's presence. He not only believed it ; but he 
felt it. He realized it. He acted all the time, as 
though he saw the eye of God looking at him. And 
so we may speak of Joseph as — the model realizer of 
God's presence. And if we learn to follow this model, 
it will prove a great blessing to us. 

It is easy to speak of four ways in which his sense 
of God's presence proved a blessing to Joseph. 
And if we learn to follow the model he thus sets before 
us, it will be a blessing to us in the same ways. 

In the first place, when Joseph realized God 's pres- 
ence — he found in it — company in his loneliness. 

165 



I 66 BIBLE MODELS. 

We can easily think of different occasions in Joseph's 
life when he must have felt very lonely. There was 
one, for instance, when he came to his brethren, to 
inquire how they were, as they were feeding their 
flocks in Dothan. They saw him coming, and made 
up their minds to kill him. When he came up to 
them, they seized him roughly, and stripped him of 
the coat of many colors, which his father had given 
him. Reuben persuaded them not to kill him. But 
they cast him into a deep pit, and left him there by 
himself, all night. How lonely he must have felt then! 

And after this, when he was sold as' a slave into 
Egypt, and found himself a stranger, in that strange 
land, with not a single person in the whole country 
that he knew, and not one that knew him, how lonely 
he must have felt ! 

And then, when on account of the false accusation 
of his master's wife, he was suddenly cast into prison, 
how lonely he must have felt ! But we are told that 
"the Lord was with Joseph," in the prison. And the 
sense he had of God's presence, took away the feeling 
of loneliness, and made him happy, and contented, 
even when he was shut up in that lonely cell. 

And this sense of God's presence which he had, 
must have given him a feeling of companionship in all 
his times of loneliness. 

And there are times with us all, when we have to 
be separated from our friends, and be left alone. But, 
if we learn to realize God's presence as Joseph did, 
this will make us feel that we have pleasant company 
in our most lonely home. 

One of the best and holiest men that ever lived, was 




JOSEPH IS SOLD TO THE ISHMAELITES BY HIS BROTHERS. 



1 68 BIBLE MODELS. 

Henry Martyn, the English missionary to Persia. In 
carrying on his work there, he had many long and 
lonely journeys to take. But, how sweetly he realized 
God's presence, as giving him company in his loneli- 
ness, is seen in these beautiful lines, which were found 
after his death, written on one of the blank leaves of 
the Bible, that he carried with him, wherever he went. 

" In desert woods with Thee, my God, 
Where human footsteps never trod, 

How happy could I be ! 
Thou, my repose from care, my light 
Amid the darkness of the night, — 

/// solitude my company. ' ' 

And how many of God's dear children have realized 
His presence in just the same way! Here are some 
illustrations of this. 

The Companionship of Jesus. This incident was 
told by one of our chaplains in the late war. 

"I went into a tent connected with the general hos- 
pital one day," says he. "There, on one of the beds, 
lay a beautiful drummer-boy, about sixteen years of 
age, burning up with fever. 

" ' Where is your home, my young friend?' I asked. 

"Tn Massachusetts, sir,' was his reply. 'And do 
you not feel very lonely here, so far away from your 
father and mother, and all your friends, and so sick 
as you are ?' 

"I never can forget," says the chaplain, "the sweet 
smile that lighted up his deep blue eyes, and played 
over his fevered lips, as he said, in answer to my 
question, ' Oh, no, sir. How can I feel lonely when 
Jesus is with me?'" 



JOSEPH, THE MODEL REALIZER. 1 69 

That dear boy was realizing God's presence, in just 
the way of which we are speaking ; and he found com- 
pany in it. 

The Presence of Jesus. In one of the countries of 
India, where the leprosy prevails, a young Christian 
girl was taken with this terrible disease. A cell was 
prepared for her to occupy. She was carried to this 
cell, and was told that she must remain there, by her- 
self, as long as she lived. None of her friends could 
be allowed to come and see her, for fear of taking the 
disease. How dreadful this was ! Of course she felt 
very sad on entering that lonely place. But hear what 
took place to give her comfort. When she fell asleep, 
the first night spent in that cell, she had a dream. 

In that dream she saw the blessed Saviour come 
into her cell. He was wearing the crown of thorns 
on his head, and in his hands and feet she saw the 
marks of the nails which had fastened him to the 
cross. He stood by the side of her bed, and laid His 
hand lovingly on her head, while, in the gentlest pos- 
sible way He said : " Fear not, my child. I will be 
with thee, and will never leave thee, or forsake thee !" 

She woke in the morning feeling very differently 
from the way she had felt the night before. She 
never forgot that dream, and the thought of it lighted 
up her cell, and took away all its loneliness. It 
enabled her to realize the presence of Jesus, and in 
that she found sweet company. Her sufferings were 
very great. After awhile she lost her eyesight. But, 
even in her blindness, she felt that Jesus was with 
her, and the thought of His presence took away her 
sense of loneliness. She realized the truth of John 



I70 BIBLE MODELS. 

Newton's sweet lines, in which, when speaking of 
the presence of Jesus, he says : — 

" While blest with a sense of His love, 

A palace, a toy would appear ; 

And prisons would palaces prove, 

If Jesus would dwell with me there." ' 

The Visits of Jesus. There was an old Christian 
gentleman, who had been for many years a successful 
merchant. He was once very well off, and had been 
surrounded by a happy family. But he had failed in 
business, and was left very poor. His wife and chil- 
dren had all died. In poverty and loneliness he had 
to spend the closing years of his life. A Christian 
friend, who used to call and see him occasionally, was 
talking with him one day, and said, "Well, I hope 
Jesus visits you sometimes." " Visits me sometimes," 
said the old man, "why, he lives with me at all times T 
And so, in realizing the presence of that blessed Sa- 
viour, he found company in his loneliness. And if we 
follow the model which Joseph sets before us, it will 
bring this blessing to us ; and we shall find company 
in our loneliness. 

In the second place, as he realized God's presence, 
Joseph found — comfort in trouble. 

And we shall find the same, just so far as we follow 
the model he has left us. Few persons have had such 
great troubles to bear as Joseph had. And yet he 
bore them bravely, and cheerfully. And the secret 
of it was, he felt that God was present with him, all 
the time, and he found comfort in this thought. This 
gave Joseph comfort, when nothing else could have 



JOSEPH, THE MODEL REALIZER. 1 7 1 

done so. And if we follow the model which he left 
us, and learn to realize God's presence, as he did, we 
shall find comfort, under all our troubles, in the feeling 
that He is with us. Let us look at some examples of 
the way in which this comfort is found. 

The Nearness of God. A city missionary in London 
used often to visit a poor old widow. She lived in a 
garret alone by herself. All she had to live on was 
half a crown a week, allowed her from some charity. 
This was only a little over half a dollar of our money, 
and was barely enough to keep her alive. 

The missionary used to notice, standing on her 
window-sill, an old broken tea-pot, in which a straw- 
berry plant was growing. He felt interested in watch- 
ing it, and seeing how it grew. One day he said to 
the old woman, — " I am glad to see how nicely your 
plant is growing. You'll soon have some berries 
ripening on it." "I don't care about the fruit," she 
said. " It's not that which leads me to watch over 
this little plant. But I am too poor to keep any living 
creature with me. And I love to have this little plant 
in my room. I know it can only live and grow by 
the power of God. And as I look at it, from day to 
day, and see it growing, it makes me feel that God is 
here with me, and I find great comfort in that thought." 

Dont Worry. During the reign of Oliver Crom- 
well in England, an English ambassador was going 
to Sweden, to represent his country there. He was a 
good Christian man ; but things were in such a troubled 
state in England, that he was sorry to be obliged to 
leave, and was greatly disturbed on this account. 

The last night he spent in England, before sailing 



172 BIBLE MODELS. 

for Sweden, he was so distressed that it was impossible 
for him to sleep. He had a faithful man-servant, who 
was an earnest, intelligent Christian. He was grieved 
to see his master so much distressed. He heard him 
tossing about on his bed, and sighing and groaning. 
At last he rose, and went into his master's chamber, 
and apologizing for disturbing him, at such an hour, 
he begged to be allowed to ask him two or three 
questions. Permission was granted. Then he said : 
" Pray, sir ; don't you think that God governed the 
world very well, before you came into it?" 

"I do." 

"And pray, sir, don't you think that He will govern 
it quite as well, when you are gone out of it?" 

" Certainly I do." 

" Pardon me, sir, but don't you think you might 
safely leave Him to govern it while you are in it, with- 
out being so much troubled ?" 

This was a view of the matter he had never taken. 
But he saw it was the right view to take. 

He thanked his faithful servant for the suggestion 
he had made. He resolved to put away the thought 
which had been troubling him. Then he turned over, 
and went quietly to sleep. He realized God's pres- 
ence, and this gave him comfort in his trouble. 

The Secret. " Mother," said a little girl, ten years 
old, " I want to know the secret of your going away 
into the woods, every morning, and evening." Their 
cottage was a very little one, and when this good 
mother wanted to be alone to pray, she had to go 
into the woods near by, for this purpose. "Why do 
you ask this question, my dear ?" said the mother. 




JOSEPH INTERPRETS PHARAOH'S DREAM. 



174 BIBLE MODELS. 

" Because I think you must go there to see some- 
body you love very much." 

" What makes you think so ?" asked her mother. 

" Because I always notice that when you come back, 
you seem happier than when you went." 

"Well, suppose I do go there to see a friend that 
I love very much, and that after meeting him, and 
talking with him, I feel happier than before, why 
should you wish to know anything more about it?" 
" Because I should like to go with you, and perhaps 
it will make me happier too." " Well, my child, when 
I leave you in the morning, and the evening, and go 
into the woods, I go to meet my blessed Saviour, and 
pray to Him. And when I come away I feel that He 
is with me ; and the thought of His presence is a help 
and a comfort to me all day." 

"Oh! that's the secret of it, is it?" said the child; 
" then please always let me go with you, when you 
go, and then perhaps the blessed Saviour will be with 
me too, to help and comfort me." Yes ! that is just 
what He will do for us all, if we follow the model 
Joseph has left us, and learn to realize His presence, 
wherever we are. 

I have one more story to tell in connection with this 
part of our subject. It is about a storm at sea, and 
the comfort that was found from realizing God's pres- 
ence. We may call it — 

The Mind Stayed on God. A ship was tossed at 
sea in a tremendous storm. Day after day the storm 
raged, and lashed the ocean into foam and fury. The 
captain, who had followed the sea for many years, 
said that was the severest storm he had ever met 



JOSEPH, THE MODEL REALIZER. 1 75 

with. The wild winds whistled fearfully through the 
rigging ; and wave after wave broke over the ship, 
with a force that threatened its destruction. 

There was a precious treasure on board that ship. 
She was carrying two young missionaries out to India, 
to preach the gospel of Jesus, to the benighted 
heathen. And with them were two noble-hearted 
Christian ladies. They had "forsaken houses, and 
brethren, and sisters, and father, and mother," and 
all the comforts of home to be helpers to those Chris- 
tian men, in the great work to which their lives were 
devoted. One of them lay helpless in her berth, 
utterly prostrated by sea-sickness. The captain had 
just come down from the deck, into the cabin, look- 
ing very sad and sorrowful. "The ship must go 
down. They had better all prepare for death," he 
said. Then he covered his face with his hands, and 
wept, as much in sympathy for his passengers, as from 
a sense of his own danger. 

One of the ladies asked her husband if it would 
not be well for them to have prayers ? He said the 
confusion was too great to engage in any formal ser- 
vice. She asked if they could not sing a hymn ? 

"Sing, my dear, by all means, if you can. I can't 
sing under these sad circumstances." The lady struck 
up, all alone, in a clear, though trembling voice, the 
words of that beautiful hymn, 

" How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, 
Is laid for your faith in His excellent word ! 
What more can He say, than to you He hath said, 
You who unto Jesus for refuge have fled. 



I76 BIBLE MODELS. 

'In ev'ry condition — in sickness, in health, 
In poverty's vale, or abounding in wealth, 
At home and abroad, on the land on the sea, 
As thy day may demand, so thy succor shall be. 

" Fear not, I am with thee ! Oh, be not dismayed ! 
For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid ; 
I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand, 
Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand. 

' ' When through the deep waters I cause thee to go, 
The rivers of woe shall not thee overflow ; 
For I will be with thee thy troubles to bless, 
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress. 

"When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie, 
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply ; 
The flame shall not hurt thee ; I only design, 
Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine. 

' ' The soul that to Jesus hath fled for repose, 
He will not, — He will not, desert to his foes ; 
That soul though all hell shall endeavor to shake, 
He'll never, no never,. no never, forsake." 

As the lady went on singing this sweet hymn, her 
voice gained in strength, and the gentlemen joined 
with her, their confidence in God increasing as they 
went on. The sick lady, though a staid Presbyterian, 
and not a Methodist, sat up in her bed, clapped her 
hands and shouted "Glory to God!" The captain 
wiped away his tears, rose up, and said, " I'll make 
one more effort to save the ship," and then went up 
on deck. On reaching the deck he found that the 
thick black clouds had parted ; the wind had died 
away ; and the sun shone out upon them with its 



JOSEPH, THE MODEL REALIZER. I 77 

cheering rays. Jesus had said to the roaring winds — 
"Peace, be still." The storm had passed away; and 
they went on their voyage comforted and rejoicing. 
What a beautiful illustration this was of that sweet 
promise — " Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose 
mind is stayed on thee — because he trusteth in thee /" 

That good Christian lady had a realizing sense of 
God's presence, and that brought comfort to herself, 
and her companions, in the great trouble that was 
overwhelming them. And in all the cases I have men- 
tioned, we see what comfort was found in trouble, by 
those who followed the model, Joseph has set us, 
of realizing God's presence. 

In the third place, Joseph found — strength for 
duty — in realizing God's presence ; and if we follow 
the model he has set us, we shall find the same. 

When his father told him to take that long journey, 
from Beersheba, where he lived, to Shechem, where 
his other sons were feeding their flocks, that he might 
see his brethren, and inquire how they were, Joseph 
obeyed his father, without a moment's hesitation. He 
knew very well that his brethren did not love him. 
They hated him because of his dreams ; and because 
their father had unwisely let it be seen, that he loved 
Joseph more than he did any of his other sons. Joseph 
had reason therefore to fear that his brethren would 
not be kind to him. But, of course, he could have 
had no idea of the cruel way in which they were 
going to treat him. Still he obeyed his father at once. 
He felt sure that God would be with him, and this 
thought gave him strength to do his duty. 

The same feeling gave him strength to do his duty 



178 BIBLE MODELS. 

in the house of Potiphar ; and very soon he rose to 
the highest place in that household. 

And when he was cast into prison, he did his duty 
there so faithfully, that the keeper of the prison, soon 
had so much confidence in him, that he left the whole 
management of it in his hands. And it was the con- 
stant feeling of God's presence, which Joseph had, 
that gave him strength to do his duty, in all those 
trying circumstances. And if we follow the model 
Joseph has left us, of realizing God's presence, it 
will have just the same effect on us. It will always 
give us strength for duty, whatever that duty may be. 

Let us look at some illustrations of this point. 
We may begin with a story about : — 

A Brave Sailor Boy. He was a cabin-boy on board 
an English man-of-war. He had a pious mother, 
and was trying to be a Christian ; and the story shows 
how the sense he had of God's presence strengthened 
him for duty, under very trying circumstances, and 
made him eminently useful to his shipmates, and to 
his country. The sailors called this boy "Cloudy." 
The incident, to which I refer, took place in the midst 
of a terrible naval battle between the English and the 
Dutch. The flagship of the English fleet was com- 
manded by the brave Admiral Narborough. His ves- 
sel, had got separated somehow, from the rest of his 
fleet, and was drawn into the thickest of the fight. 
Two of its masts had just been shot away, and had 
fallen with a fearful crash upon the deck. The 
Admiral saw that all would soon be lost unless he 
could bring up the rest of his ships to help him. He 
summoned a lot of his men upon the quarter deck. 




: 



JOSEPH MAKES HIMSELF KNOWN TO HIS BROTHERS. 



l8o BIBLE MODELS. 

He could not send a boat, but he asked if any of them 
would volunteer to swim through the fight, and take 
an order for the rest of the fleet to come up, at once 
to his help. A dozen men offered to go ; and little 
Cloudy made the same offer. The Admiral smiled, 
when he looked at him, and said: "Why, Cloudy, 
what can you do ?" 

" I can swim, sir, as well as any of them. You can't 
spare these men from the guns, sir. It won't make 
much matter if I am killed. But I'm sure that God will 
take care of me. Please, sir, let me go." "Go, my 
brave lad," said the Admiral, "and may God bless you !" 

He thanked the Admiral, and running to the side 
of the ship, sprang over into the sea, and struck 
out bravely towards the ships, which he was to order 
up. The men cheered him, and then went back to 
their guns. 

The fight went on ; but the Dutch were getting the 
best of it. The Admiral was feeling very sadly. He 
did not see how he could hold out much longer. He 
said to himself — " I have never hauled down the flae 
of old England yet. I'd rather die than do it now. 
But how can I help it?" 

Just then he heard a firing to the right. Looking 
through the clouds of smoke, that surrounded him, 
he saw that the brave boy had got through his 
long and dangerous swim. He had delivered the 
order entrusted to him ; and the expected ships were 
coming, crowding down upon the enemy. This 
turned the tide of battle. The Dutch were soon 
beaten, and the flag of old England was not hauled 
down that day. 



JOSEPH, THE MODEL REALIZER. l8l 

In the evening the Admiral called his men on 
deck, to thank them for their brave conduct. And 
then, turning to Cloudy, who was also present, he 
said : 

"And I want especially to thank you, my brave lad, 
for your noble conduct. We owe this victory to you. 
I hope to live to see you have a flagship of your own, 
some day." 

And it turned out just so. That cabin-boy went 
on, realizing God's presence ; and this gave him 
strength for duty, till he was knighted by the king, 
and known in the English navy as — Admiral Sir 
Cloudsly Shovell. 

The Thought of God's Presence. A boy, about 
fifteen years of age, attended a mission chapel in 
China. He had become a Christian, and was trying 
to serve the Lord Jesus. His father was dead, and 
his mother and brothers were still heathens. They 
did not want him to be a Christian. They treated 
him very unkindly, and did all they could to keep him 
from going to hear about Jesus ; but still he went. 
One Sunday his mother sent two of his elder brothers 
to bring him away from the mission service. She had 
his hands tied behind him and beat him severely. Then 
she told him to go and work in the garden, all the 
rest of the day, and said that if he did not do as he 
was told, she would whip him to death. 

He told his mother that since he had learned about 
Jesus, he loved her better than he had ever done 
before. He said he wanted to do what was right, 
and be a good son to her. He was willing to work 
hard all the week ; but that the Sabbath was God's 



I 82 BIBLE MODELS. 

day, on which He had said we must not work. "Jesus 
is watching me all the time, mother. He will see me 
if I work to-day, and it will displease Him. He is so 
great, and so good, that I dare not disobey His com- 
mand. If you are determined to whip me to death 
for not working on the Lord's day, I will pray to Jesus 
to forgive you, because you do not know what you 
are doing. But I would rather be whipped to death, 
than do what I know will offend the Lord Jesus Christ. 
We must all die once, and since I have found Jesus 
I am not afraid to die. Death will only take me to 
heaven, when I shall be happy with Jesus forever." 
What a noble speech that was for a boy to make ! 
He was realizing the presence of Jesus, and that gave 
him strength to do his duty. The brave boy's speech 
had such an effect on his mother that she untied his 
hands, and gave up the idea of whipping him any 
more. She let him go to the missionary meetings. 
She began to attend the meetings with him, and be- 
fore long she learned to love the Saviour too, and 
became a Christian. 

And if we follow the model that Joseph has left us, 
we shall find that realizing the presence of God will 
be sure to give us strength for duty. 

And then, when Joseph realized the presence of God, 
he found that it gave him — victory over TExMPTATioN. 
And if we follow the model he has left us, we shall 
find that it will do the same for us. 

The wife of his master, Potiphar, was trying to per- 
suade Joseph to do what would have been very wrong. 
But, the thing that kept him from doing it, was the 
feeling he had that God was looking at him, all the 



JOSEPH, THE MODEL REALIZER. 1 83 

time. This led him to say, in the words of our text — 
"How can I do this great wickedness, and sin against 
God?" It gave him victory over temptation. 

But we all have temptations to meet with, wherever 
we go. And the very best way of meeting these 
temptations, is to imitate the model Joseph has left us, 
by trying, as he did, to realize God's presence, and 
never to forget that his eye is always upon us. 

The Thought of God's Eye. Emma Gray was a 
Sunday-school girl, who was trying to serve the Lord 
Jesus Christ, and to make herself useful. As she was 
going to school one day, during the week, she passed 
a little boy, whose hand was thrust through the railings 
of a gentleman's front garden, trying to steal some 
flowers. 

"Oh, my little boy," said Emma, kindly, "do you 
think it's right to take those flowers ; without asking 
leave?" 

"I only want two or three," said the boy, "and 
nobody sees me." 

"You are mistaken there, my boy. God is looking 
at you from yonder blue sky. He says we must not 
take what does not belong to us, without leave. And 
if you do it, He will see it, and it will grieve Him." 

"Then, if He's looking at me I won't do it," said 
the little fellow. And so, as he thought of God's 
eye, or realized God's presence, it gave him the 
victory over the temptation to steal those flowers. 

Spoiling his Trade. A mission Sunday-school was 
started in a very wicked part of London. A good 
many boys in that neighborhood got their living by 
stealing. Some of these boys were persuaded to go 



184 BIBLE MODELS. 

to this school. One boy, who was a great thief went 
there. After he had been o-oino- for some time, one 
of his companions asked him how he liked the school. 

"I don't like it at all," said he. 

"Why not?" asked his friend. 

"Because, you see, they are all the time talking 
about God seeing you, and the like o' that ; and it 
just makes a fellow feel afeard. It takes all the 
pluck out o' me, I know. 

"Many a time now, when I see a good chance to 
get a hankercher, or a nice purse of money, just as 
I'm going to take it, I think of that great eye looking 
at me. And then I'm afeard, and have to stop. So, 
you see, it's spoiling my trade. And I'll either have 
to give up going to the school, or else have to learn 
another trade, and try and get my living in some other 
way." 

Here, we see, the true effect which must always 
follow from realizing God's presence. We cannot go 
on doing what we know to be wrong, when we feel 
that God is looking at us. It always gives us victory 
over the temptation to do what we know is wrong. 
It did this for Joseph, and it will do the same for us. 

How many wicked words and acts, children, as well 
as grown people, might be kept from saying and 
doing, if they could only be reminded, at the right 
time, that God is looking at them ! 

Those Fotir Words. A gentleman, who is an earnest 
Christian, and a faithful Sunday-school teacher, tells 
this story of himself when he was a boy. 

My father had a grafted pear tree in his garden. It 
was a very choice graft, and he watched it with great 



JOSEPH THE MODEL REALIZER. 185 

care. The second year it blossomed, but it only bore 
one pear. As there would be no more that year, 
he was very anxious about it. He hoped that no 
rough wind would blow it off. He looked at it every 
morning and evening, and was glad to find it safe. 

He told all the children, on no account to touch it, 
for the fruit was tender, and must not be handled. 
The thought never occurred to him that one of his 
children would wish to steal it. 

Every one, that came to see my father, was taken 
into the garden to look at that pet pear ; and they all 
said that it was likely to ripen into a first-rate fruit, 
and that next year the tree would bear many more. 

I never touched the pear with my fingers, but my 
eyes were often fixed upon it, and I longed to taste 
it. Instead of resisting this temptation, and praying 
for strength to overcome it, I gave way to it, till I 
became a slave to it. The desire for that pear got 
to be my master. 

One night, after we children were all in bed, the 
thought of that pear would not let me sleep. I crept 
out of bed, and went to the window. My father and 
mother were not at home, but the back door was 
left unlocked, for them to get in if they came home 
late. 

I put my head out of the window and saw the tree ; 
after awhile I saw the pear. I said to myself my 
mouth is parched, and I must have something to 
moisten it. 

I put on my clothes, and crept down the back stairs 
on my bare feet, went out at the back door, and soon 
reached the pear tree. As I stood there, the thought 



1 86 BIBLE MODELS. 

came into my mind, "What will father say?" But I 
answered the question by saying to myself — "He will 
not know who took it." 

So I had made up my mind to take the pear and 
eat it. I stood there under the tree, and was looking 
up, with my hand stretched out to take the pear. 
But just then I saw a star, shining down upon me, 
through the leaves. All at once it seemed as if I 
heard some one repeat these four words : 

Thou God seest me. 

I put my hands before my eyes, and ran, as fast as 
I could, to the open door, and up the back stairs to 
bed. 

There I stood trembling. I knew that God had 
seen me, and I thought my father and mother, and 
the servants and neighbors must know of it, and that 
everybody would call me a thief. 

But I crept into bed, and thanked God for keeping 
me from stealing that pear. Then I fell asleep, and 
slept sweetly. 

The next day, my father came in from the garden, 
and said "the pear was ripe, and might be taken down 
and eaten; but who was to have it?" I cried out, 
hardly knowing what I did — "God ought to have it." 

This was so strange an answer, that my father and 
mother wondered at it, and father said: "Pray, what 
put that into your mind ?" 

I felt my cheeks getting red, and tears came into 
my eyes. I began to sob. Then I told how near I 
had come to being a thief, and how God had made 
use of that star to keep me from it. 



JOSEPH, THE MODEL REALIZER. 1 87 

My mother cried aloud ; father wiped the tears 
from his eyes, and taking me very tenderly to his 
breast, said, "Then it shall be as you say; God shall 
have the pear, and we will give it to Him through one 
of His dear children." 

"Suppose," said he to mother, "we give it to our 
neighbor's child, poor little Annie, who has been so 
long on her sick bed. Her lips are often very much 
parched, and she seldom has anything to moisten them 
with but cold water." 

Mother consented willingly enough. She went with 
me herself, to carry the pear to the poor sick child. 
And how she did enjoy it ! and how she thanked us 
for it ! It did me more good than if I had had a 
dozen such pears given me to eat, without any fear 
or dread. 

Here we see how this boy got the victory over 
temptation by realizing God's presence. 

Joseph stands before us as the model realizer of 
God's presence. It was a blessing to him in four 
ways. 

It gave him company in his loneliness ; comfort in 
troztble ; strength for duty ; and victory over tempta- 
tion. And if we learn to realize that presence as he 
did, it will be a blessing to us, in just the same way. 
Remember these four words whenever you think of 
Joseph: company — comfort — strength — and victory. 

I will close this sermon with some sweet lines, which 
contain the substance of all I have now been trying 
to say. They were written for children, and are so 
plain and simple that even the little ones in the Infant 
school may understand them. The heading to them is : 



1 88 BIBLE MODELS. 

NEVER OUT OF SIGHT. 

" I know a little saying, 

That is altogether true ; 
My little boy, my little girl, 

This saying is for you. 
'Tis this, O blue and black eyes, 

And gray — so deep and bright — 
No child, in all this careless world 

Is ever out of sight. 

"No matter whether field or glen, 

Or crowded city's way, 
Or pleasure's laugh, or labor's hum, 

Entice your feet to stray ; 
Some one is always watching you, 

Or whether wrong or right, 
No child in all this busy world 

Is ever out of sight. 

" Some one is always watching you, 

And marking what you do, 
To see if all your words and acts 

Are honest, brave, and true; 
And watchful, more than mortal kind, 

God's angels, pure and white, 
In gladness, or in sorrowing 

Are keeping you in sight. 

" O bear in mind, my little one, 

And let your mark be high ! 
You do whatever thing you do, 

Beneath some watching eye ; 
Bear it in mind, my little one, 

And keep your good name bright, 
No child in all this great round world 

Is ever out of sight." 



SAMUEL, THE MODEL OF EARLY PIETY. 



"And the Lord came and called — Samuel, Samuel. 
Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth!' 
— i Samuel iii : 10. 




>HESE words were first spoken more than 
three thousand years ago. Samuel, to 
whom they refer, was then only a little 
boy. In the first verse of this chapter 
he is spoken of as — "the child Samuel." 
His mother had been married a good while, but had 
no children. She wanted very much to have a son. 
She prayed earnestly to God to give her a son ; and 
she promised the Lord that if He would hear her 
prayer, and be so kind as to let her have a son, she 
would "give him unto the Lord all his days." God 
graciously heard her prayer. A son was born to her. 
She was filled with gladness, when this event took 
place, and she called his name Samuel, which means 
"asked of the Lord." She did not forget her promise, 
but nursed her son tenderly, and carefully, till he was 
weaned, and then she took him to the tabernacle of 

the Lord at Shiloh, and gave him to Eli the Priest, 

189 



I90 BIBLE MODELS. 

and left him there, that he might make himself useful 
in the service of God's house. Dear child ! he was 
too young then to do much work. But he could light 
a candle, or sweep the floor, or hold a dish, or run on 
an errand, or shut a door; and because he did such 
little things, to please God, it is said that "Samuel min- 
istered to the Loi'd" and in this way he was very 
useful. 

One night, Eli, who was an old man, had gone to 
bed; the service of the day was over; the lamp of 
God was yet burning in the tabernacle, and Samuel 
had lain down to sleep. All was still, and quiet as 
the grave, when suddenly he heard his name called — 
"Samuel — Samuel." He answered at once, — "Here 
am I" — and, supposing it was Eli, the aged priest, 
who wanted him, he rose — "and ran to him, and said, 
here am I, for thou calledst me. And he said I called 
not; lie down again. And he went and lay down." 
This was done three times, and each time Samuel ran 
to Eli, and asked what he wanted. At last Eli felt 
sure that it was God who was calling Samuel. Then 
he told him to go back once more, and if he heard 
the call again, to say — "Speak, Lord, for thy servant 
heareth." 

The call came again. Samuel answered it. God 
spake to him, and he became, from that time, the 
servant and follower of the Lord. 

We are not told how old "the child Samuel" was 
when this took place. We know not what his age was 
when his mother took him up to Shiloh, and left him 
there with Eli. And we know not how long he had 
been there, when God called him. But I suppose we 






I92 BIBLE MODELS. 

may safely say that he was not more than eight or 
ten years old. And if this was so, then we may take 
Samuel as — the model of early piety. 

And when we come to examine this model, we find 
that there are four good points about it ; and each of 
these furnishes a good reason, why every young person 
should try to imitate the model which Samuel has 
left us. 

In the first place, Samuel's early piety made him — 

A MODEL OF USEFULNESS. 

Samuel became a prophet of the Lord, and was 
very useful in this way. He made known to the 
people of Israel, what God wanted them to do, and 
taught them how they were to serve and please Him. 

And then he was a judge, as well as a prophet. 
He went out at stated times among the people, and 
settled their disputes and quarrels, and so he was the 
means of promoting peace and happiness among them. 
He did a great deal of good to the people of Israel in 
this way. And then, though Samuel was not a soldier, 
yet when the Philistines, their enemies, came against 
them in battle, he prayed to God for the success of 
the Israelites, and thus he was the means of obtaining 
a great victory for them. In addition to all this he 
was very useful as a teacher. He established schools 
that were called — "the schools of the prophets." 
They were places where young men, who were going 
to serve God as prophets and teachers of the people, 
might learn about the duties of religion, and be 
trained, and fitted for their work. And how much 
good was done to the people of Israel, in this way, 
no one can tell. And so we see that Samuel's whole 




SAMUEL HEARS THE VOICE OP THE LORD. 



194 BIBLE MODELS. 

life was one of usefulness in many ways. And all 
this grew out of his early piety. 

And if we try to love and serve God, while we are 
young, as Samuel did, it will make us models of 
usefulness, as he was. We may not be prophets, or 
judges, like Samuel, but still it will be sure to make 
us useful. When we become Christians, and learn to 
serve God, it will make us useful in a great many 
ways. Then, as the apostle Paul says, we shall find 
that "whether we eat, or drink, or whatsoever we 
do," we shall be able to "do all to the glory of God." 
No matter how poor we may be, or how young, we 
shall yet be able to make ourselves useful, and do a 
great deal of good. 

Here are some illustrations of the usefulness of 
young persons who were trying to serve God. 

What a Child Did. In the neighborhood of Belle- 
ville, Alabama, was a man who was an infidel. He 
did not believe in God, and never thought of trying 
to please or serve Him. He lived in this beautiful 
world, and daily received God's mercies, but never 
thought of thanking Him for them. In this man's 
neighborhood, there lived a little girl who loved and 
served Jesus. While her father was absent from 
home, at one time, on business, she was taken very 
ill. He was sent for to see his child die. When he 
reached home, he found his neighbor, the infidel, in 
his sick child's room. 

The little girl said to her father, "Papa, I'm going 
to die, but I am not afraid to die. I know that I am 
going to the blessed Saviour, and that I shall be 
happy forever with Him. Oh, papa, I want you to 



SAMUEL, THE MODEL OF EARLY PIETY. I95 

tell all the children about Jesus, and tell them to love 
and trust in Him." 

She went on, for some time speaking of the happi- 
ness she had found in Jesus. While the dear child 
was thus speaking, the infidel looked on, and listened, 
till the big tears came rolling down his cheeks, and 
he said to the little girl's father, — "I must give up my 
infidelity. I know now that there is a God. Your 
little girl has proved it to me." 

Surely that little girl's piety made her useful. 

Another Illustration. A little girl named Mary, 
went with her parents from New England, to a home 
on one of the Western prairies. She was only ten 
years old, but she was trying to love and serve the 
blessed Saviour. When settled in her new home, she 
began to think what she could do to make herself 
useful there. She asked her mother, one day, if she 
might go and call on some of their neighbors' chil- 
dren. Her mother consented, and she went. In the 
first house at which she called, were two little girls, 
about her own age, named Susie and Jennie. Children- 
like they soon became well acquainted with each other, 
and were talking freely. 

"Where do you go to Sunday-school?" asked Mary. 
"Sunday-school !" exclaimed the children ; "what's that? 
we never saw one. What do they do at Sunday- 
school ?" asked the children. "Come to our house 
next Sunday, at two o'clock, and I'll show you." The 
children promised to come. Mary secured the same 
promise from four other children in the neighborhood. 
Then she longed for Sunday. It came at last. At 
two o'clock the six little girls were all on hand. Mary 



I96 BIBLE MODELS. 

welcomed them, and gave them seats in the parlor. 
" Now," she said, " I'm going to show you what a 
Sunday-school is." Then she took her hymn-book, 
and selected one of the hymns they used to sing in 
their school at home. She sang it alone ; then she 
read the lesson she was to teach ; then she knelt in 
prayer; then she sang another hymn. "And now," 
she said, "I'm going to tell you all »I can remember, 
that our teacher told us about this lesson." 

She talked on for fifteen or twenty minutes, while 
the children sat spell-bound with what they were hear- 
ing. Then followed another hymn, and the school 
closed. 

"Well, what do you think of the Sunday-school?" 
asked Mary. 

"Oh! it's splendid," they all exclaimed. Then they 
promised to come again next Sunday, and each to try 
and bring another scholar. 

The next Sunday they had twelve scholars. The 
Sunday following there were twenty-four. Then the 
grown-up people in the neighborhood began to feel an 
interest in the work. A Bible class was formed. The 
school grew. Little Mary's parlor was too small for 
it. A school-house was built. Then a congregation 
was organized, and a church building put up. That 
church is now one of the strongest in all that part of 
the country, and little Maiy began all this good work. 
How useful she made herself in trying to serve God ! 

Preaching a Sermon with a Shovel. I read lately 
about a little boy, who was trying to be a Christian, 
and of the good he did with his shovel. He was a 
shop-boy in a large store in Boston. Part of his duty 






SAMUEL, THE MODEL OF EARLY PIETY. 1 97 

was to keep the pavement, in front of the store, clear 
of snow and ice during the winter. A gentleman in 
that neighborhood watched this boy, and was very 
much pleased with him. He told his children about 
him, and urged them to follow his example. " No 
matter how early I go down," said he, "I am sure to 
find that pavement cleaned off. It does one good just 
to see it. The boy who keeps that pavement so clean, 
preaches a sermon with his shovel. It is a sermon on 
doing our work well, and not shirking it ; a sermon on 
doing things promptly and without delay; a sermon 
on sticking to things day after day, and not giving up ; 
a sermon on doing our own part, and not waiting for 
others to do theirs." 

And if we are trying to serve God, as that boy was, 
whether we are working with needles, or brooms, or 
shovels, or hammers, or saws, or whatever it be, we 
shall be able to preach sermons, or make ourselves 
useful with them. Samuel's early piety made him a 
model of usefulness. And if we follow his example, 
in trying to serve God, while we are young, it will 
make us models of usefulness. 

But, in the second place, Samuel's early piety made 

him A MODEL OF HAPPINESS. 

Religion is intended to make us happy. Loving and 
serving God, is the secret of true happiness. We 
sometimes see persons who profess to be religious, but 
who have very long faces, and always look gloomy and 
sad. They do not understand what religion is. There 
is some mistake in their views of it. Samuel's piety 
did not make him sad and sorrowful. Although while 
he was young he had to live away from home, and only 



I98 BIBLE MODELS. 

saw his father and mother once a year, when they 
came up to worship God at the tabernacle, yet he was 
cheerful and happy. And when he grew up to be a 
man, he was always happy and cheerful. The people 
all loved him. They had confidence in him ; and 
when they were in trouble, they would come and tell 
him of it, and ask his advice about what they had 
better do. 

When our Saviour was on earth, in his conversation 
with the woman of Samaria, at Jacob's well, as we 
read in the 4th chapter of St. John, he compared true 
religion to a well of water, or a well of happiness in 
our hearts, "springing up unto everlasting life." This 
is the most beautiful definition of religion that ever 
was given. Samuel had this well of water in his heart, 
and no wonder that it made him happy. And if we 
learn to love and serve God, while we are young, as 
Samuel did, Jesus will open up this well of water in 
our hearts ; and then, wherever we may be, and what- 
ever may happen to us, we shall always be happy. 
Religion is intended to make us happy. It is God's 
great secret of happiness, and no one can be truly 
happy without it. 

Now let us look at some illustrations of this sub- 
ject. 

Many years ago there was a good minister in Eng- 
land whose name was Toplady. He wrote a great 
deal of very sweet poetry about religion. There is 
a beautiful hymn of his, written on the words : " My 
meditation of Him shall be sweet." I will quote part 
of this hymn, because it illustrates very well this part 
of our- sermon. 




JESUS TALKS WITH THE WOMAN AT THE WELL. 



200 BIBLE MODELS. 

"When languor and disease invade 

This trembling house of clay ; 
'Tis sweet to look beyond our cage, 

And long to fly away; 
Sweet to look inward, and attend 

The whispers of His love ; 
Sweet to look upward to the place 

Where Jesus pleads above. 

"Sweet to look back, and see my name 

In life's fair book set down ; 
Sweet to look forward, and behold 

Eternal joys my own. 
Sweet to reflect how grace divine 

My sins on Jesus laid ; 
Sweet to remember that His blood 

My debt of suffering paid. 

"Sweet on His righteousness to stand 

Which saves from second death ; 
Sweet to experience day by day 

His Spirit's quickening breath, 
Sweet on His faithfulness to rest, 

Whose love can never end ; 
Sweet on His covenant of grace, 

For all things to depend. 

"Sweet in the confidence of faith 

To trust His firm decrees; 
Sweet to lie passive in His hands 

And know no will but His. 
Sweet to rejoice in lively hope, 

That when my change shall come, 
Angels shall hover round my bed, 

And waft my spirit home." 

Those who feel in this way, cannot help but be very 
happy ; and yet this is the way that every one should 
feel who really loves Jesus. 



SAMUEL, THE MODEL OF EARLY PIETY. 201 

For Mamma. A little girl, whose name was Dora, 
was busy at the ironing table one day smoothing 
out the towels and stockings. A Christian friend 
happened to come into the room just then. She 
looked at the industrious little girl a moment, and 
asked : 

"Isn't this hard work for those little arms?" 

A look of sunshine came into Dora's face, as she 
glanced towards her mother, who was rocking the 
baby, and softly said : 

"It isn't hard work, when I do it for Mamma." She 
loved her mother, and that made it pleasant to work 
for her. And so, when we love Jesus, it makes 
everything pleasant that we do for Him. 

The Christian s Triumph. A Christian lady in New 
England, who was very rich, had just moved into an 
elegant new home. It was splendidly furnished. The 
walls were hung with the finest paintings. Here and 
there might be seen beautiful pieces of marble sta- 
tuary. All that wealth could purchase, to make a 
home bright and attractive, had been put in that house. 
And then this lady had a loving husband, and a charm- 
ing young daughter. But, shortly after moving into 
this lovely home, she was taken very sick. Her dis- 
ease was one which the doctors could not cure. She 
would soon have to die, and leave her beautiful new 
home. Yet she shed no tears, and did not complain. 

A friend came in to see her one day. She expected 
to find her very sad and sorrowful, and had been try- 
ing to think of something she could say to comfort 
her. But she found her calm and cheerful. After 
talking with her a while, she looked around on the 



202 BIBLE MODELS. 

elegant things, and said to her friend : " Does it not 
make you feel sad, to think of leaving this sweet 
home? You have everything to live for." 

"Very true," said the noble Christian, "but then 
you must remember, my friend, that I have everything 
to die for." 

That was true. Yes, and it is true in reference to 
all who love the blessed Saviour. The home that is 
prepared for them, with Him, is better, far better, than 
anything this world contains. And if we are loving 
and serving Jesus, we may well say, with this good 
Christian lady, that we "have everything to die 
for!' And those who know this, may well feel very 
happy. 

I will finish this part of our sermon, by quoting 
some lines which give a beautiful description of the 
Christian's feeling in this world, and show the secret 
of his happiness. 

They are headed — Trust in Jesus. And this is the 
way in which they speak of a Christian : 

" Happy, Saviour, must I be, 
As I learn to trust in Thee; 
Trust Thy wisdom me to guide, 
Trust Thy goodness to provide ; 
Trust Thy saving love and power, 
Trust Thee every day and hour ; 
Trust Thee as the only light 
In the darkest hour of night; 
Trust in sickness, trust in health, 
Trust in poverty, and wealth; 
Trust in joy, and trust in grief, 
Trust Thy promise for relief; 
Trust Thy blood to cleanse my soul, 
Trust Thy grace to make me whole ; 



SAMUEL, THE MODEL OF EARLY PIETY. 203 

Trust Thee living, dying too, 
Trust Thee all my journey through; 
Trust Thee till my feet shall be 
Planted on the crystal sea; 
Trust Thee, ever blessed Lamb, 
Till I wear the victor's palm; 
Trust Thee till my soul shall be 
Wholly swallowed up in Thee." 

This is just the way in which true Christians will 
learn to trust in Jesus. It was trusting in this way, 
that made Samuel a model of happiness. And if we 
learn to follow his example, it will make us models of 
happiness too. The second thing about Samuel, is 
that his early piety made him a model of happiness. 

In the third place, Samuel's early piety made him — 

A MODEL OF PERSEVERANCE. 

To persevere means to keep on doing, whatever we 
begin to do, without giving up. One reason why 
some people never succeed in what they begin to do, 
is that they do not persevere. They soon get tired, 
and give it up. But this was not the way with Samuel. 
When he began to serve God, he persevered in it. He 
kept on trying without getting tired. He never gave 
it up, but went steadily on with it. From that memo- 
rable night — "When little Samuel woke, and heard 
his Maker's voice," until the day of his death, he per- 
severed in serving God. He went steadily on, trying 
always to do God's will, and to please Him in all 
things. And it was a long time in which he thus per- 
severed. We have seen that Samuel was only eight 
or ten years old when he began to serve God. We 
are not told how old he was when he died. But it is 
probable that he was not less than ninety years of age 



204 BIBLE MODELS. 

at the time of his death. Then he must have gone on 
serving God for eighty years. That was a long time. 
And when we think of Samuel, during all those 
years, as continually trying to serve God, and never 
getting tired, or giving up, we may well speak of him 
as — "a model of perseverance!'* And if we try to 
serve God when we are young, as Samuel did, we 
shall be able to follow his example in this respect, and 
like him, we too, shall become models of perseverance. 

But some may be ready to ask, " How can we be sure 
of this?" I answer, "Easily enough." It was the grace 
of God, which made Samuel pious when he was young; 
and which enabled him to persevere in serving God 
through all the years of his long life. And what the 
grace of God did for Samuel, it is able to do for you 
and me. That grace, like God himself, is Almighty. 
Whatever we have to do, we can do easily with the 
help of that grace. St. Paul said, " I can do all things 
through Christ strengthening me." He meant that he 
could do this by the help of God's grace. And this is 
just as true now, as it was eighteen hundred years 
ago, when St. Paul was here on earth. 

The grace of God makes hard things easy, and 
crooked things straight. It enables us to go on in 
serving God as long as we live. It will make us like 
Samuel, models of perseverance. And it is the boys 
and girls who begin to serve God, when they are 
young, and learn to persevere, who become the most 
useful. 

Let us look at some examples of perseverance, that 
may encourage us in trying to learn this very import- 
ant lesson. 



iim 



^n 






v 

IK If 




SAMUEL TELLS SAUL HE IS KING OVER ISRAEL. 



206 BIBLE MODELS. 

The Persevering Boy. A good many years ago, 
there was a poor boy in England, who was learning to 
be a shoemaker. Before he got through with his trade, 
he became a Christian. Then he made up his mind 
that whatever he attempted to do, he would keep on, 
and persevere till he got through with it. Afterwards 
he determined to study for the ministry. He began 
his studies, and went on perseveringly with them till 
he got through. 

After he was ordained he went out as a missionary 
to India. And he became one of the most useful mis- 
sionaries that the church ever had. He learned the 
language of the people among whom he preached. 
Then he made a grammar of that language. After 
this he made a dictionary. This dictionary filled up 
three large, heavy volumes. Then he translated the 
New Testament, and different parts of the Old Testa- 
ment, into that language. This opened up the know- 
ledge of Jesus, and his salvation, to millions of people 
in that country. The missionary of whom I am speak- 
ing was the celebrated William Carey. 

Somebody asked Mr. Carey one day, how he man- 
aged to get through with so much work ? The answer 
he gave to this question is one that we should all re- 
member. He said: "I did it by plodding." To plod, 
means to keep on with anything we are doing, till we 
get through with it. To plod is the same as to perse- 
vere. And so Carey the missionary, in the great work 
he did in India, stands before us as — a model of perse- 
verance. 

The Story of a Bootblack. More than a hundred 
years ago, there lived a boy in the city of Oxford, in 



SAMUEL, THE MODEL OF EARLY PIETY. 207 

England, whose name was George. He was so poor 
that he used to clean the boots of the students at the 
University, as the only means he had of getting a 
living. He was a Christian boy. He was very 
obliging and pleasant in his manners. He was warm- 
hearted, and generous, to all. The young men, whose 
boots he blacked, learned to love him. After awhile 
when they found out that George wanted to become a 
student, they agreed to help him along. They found 
him very quick to learn, and very persevering in his 
studies. He never lost a moment of time, but learned 
his lessons with the utmost diligence. He soon got to 
be one of the best students in the college. In this way 
he went on perseveringly, till he got through. Then 
he studied theology, and became a minister. Some 
of those who had helped him on, when he began his 
studies, made fun of him, and persecuted him, when 
they saw what an earnest Christian he was. But this 
did not move him. He was firm as a rock. Nothing 
could change him. He went steadily on, till he had 
finished his studies. Then he began to preach, and 
soon became one of the most eloquent, and successful 
ministers in the country. So many people flocked to 
hear him, that no church could hold them. Then he 
preached out of doors, in the open fields, and some- 
times there would be as many as twenty thousand 
people at one time, listening to his preaching. He 
went about all over England, and all through this 
country, preaching the Gospel of Christ, and doing 
an amount of good, that never will be known till the 
last great day. This bootblack boy became the fa- 
mous George Whitfield — the greatest preacher that 



208 BIBLE MODELS. 

the church has known, since the days of the apostle 
Paul. George Whitfield was a model of perseverance. 

I will finish this part of our sermon, with a story of 
two persevering bishops. 

The first of these was Bishop Doane, formerly Bishop 
of New Jersey. On one occasion he was in New 
York, trying to raise money for St. Mary's College at 
Burlington, where he lived. 

He stayed there till the close of the week, intending 
to return home by the last train on Saturday evening. 
It was very important for him to reach home that eve- 
ning, for he had an engagement to preach, and hold 
confirmation the next day. A little while before it was 
time for him to start for the train, a gentleman called 
to see him, who had some money to give him for the 
college. The Bishop was very uneasy, for he was 
afraid he might miss the train. As soon as he could 
do so, he excused himself to the gentleman, and hur- 
ried away to the railway station. But, when he arrived 
there, he found to his sorrow, that the train had left 
about ten minutes before! The Bishop was greatly 
troubled. He could not bear to think of not being in 
his place the next day. Many a man would have 
said: "Well, it's not my fault. I did the best I could. 
I can't help it. I am very sorry not to be able to keep 
my engagement for to-morrow. But I must give it up." 

But Bishop Doane did not think, nor feel, in this way 
about it. He was a persevering man, and he resolved, 
if it was possible, to try and get home before Sunday 
morning. So he went to the agent and said: "My 
friend, is there no other train that goes through Bur- 
lington to-night?" 



SAMUEL, THE MODEL OF EARLY PIETY. 209 

"No, sir," was the reply; "no passenger train. 
There is a freight train that leaves here in about half 
an hour." 

"Very good," said the Bishop, "suppose you give 
me a ticket on that train. I can sit on the engine, or 
on the platform, in front of one of the cars. I have a 
very important engagement in Burlington to-morrow ; 
and I must be there, if possible." 

"I would gladly do so," said the agent, "if \ could. 
But it is against the positive rules of our company, to 
take passengers on a freight train." 

"Well," replied the Bishop, "I wouldn't on any 
account, tempt you to break the rules of the company. 
But have you room for any more freight in this train?" 

"Yes, sir, plenty." 

"Then put me on the scales, and see how much I 
weigh." 

The agent weighed him, and said, "A hundred and 
seventy-five pounds." 

"What do you charge," asked the Bishop, "for 
carrying that much freight?" 

The agent told him. The Bishop gave him the 
money, and then said, " Now put me in one of the 
cars, and carry me to Burlington as freight. 

This was done, and the Bishop reached home, in 
time for his engagement on Sunday. 

The other persevering Bishop, was Bishop Randall, 
the first missionary Bishop of Colorado, in the far-off 
West. He was spending a winter in the East, one 
year, trying to raise money for the college he had 
started at Denver. On one occasion, he was engaged 
to preach in a village a few miles from New York, 



2IO - BIBLE MODELS. 

where they had promised to give him a collection 
for his college. But the day proved to be very 
stormy. It had snowed steadily all night, and was 
snowing, and blowing furiously in the morning. The 
snow lay in great drifts along the road. The church 
was a long distance off. It was impossible to ride. 
If he went, he would have to plod his way through 
the piles of snow; arid the Bishop wondered if it 
would be worth while to go, as there would be no 
congregation, and, of course no collection. But he 
was a persevering Bishop, and so he determined that 
he would be at the church, whether any one else was 
there or not. So he started; and battling manfully 
with the storm, he finally reached the church. When 
the time for service came, there was nobody there but 
himself and the sexton. After waiting a while, three 
or four gentlemen came in, and then they went on 
with the service. The Bishop talked about his college, 
with as much earnestness as though the church had 
been full. 

At the close of the service, one of the gentlemen 
came up, and said, "Bishop, I have been very much 
interested, in what you have said about your college. 
I wish you would call at my office, in New York, to- 
morrow, and tell me some more about it." Then he 
told him where his office was, and the Bishop promised 
to call. 

He called accordingly the next day. The gentle- 
man asked him various questions about the college. 
The Bishop talked on awhile. Then the gentleman 
said, "Excuse me for a moment, sir." He turned to 
his desk ; took out his check book, and drew the 



SAMUEL, THE MODEL OF EARLY PIETY. 2 1 I 

Bishop a check for a thousand dollars. Then he went 
on asking questions, and the Bishop went on talking. 
Presently the gentleman said: "Please hand me back 
that check." Then he tore it up, and gave the Bishop 
one for fifteen hundred dollars. The Bishop talked 
on awhile longer. The Gentleman's interest seemed 
to increase ; and finally he took the check back again, 
and gave the Bishop one for two thousand dollars. 
And so, the persevering Bishop got his reward. 

And if we learn to serve God early, as Samuel did, 
we shall become models of perseverance, like him. 

And then, in the fourth place, Samuel's early piety 
made him — a model of honor. 

The Bible speaks of two kinds of honor. One is 
"the honor that cometh from man," and the other, 
"the honor that cometh from God." The first of 
these is not worth much. It does not help to make 
us good or happy. It is only an empty name. In 
England, for example, when the Queen wishes to give 
a man what is called "the honor of knighthood," she 
allows him to have the title of Sir, written before his 
name. Thus, if his name was known as John Smith, 
he will, after this, always be spoken of as — Sir John 
Smith. This is considered a great honor, and men 
feel very proud of it. But, when Sir John Smith dies, 
this honor will all pass away. He will not be able to 
carry it with him, into the other world. It is like 
writing a man's name on the sand by the sea-shore. 
When the next tide rolls over it, it will be all swept 
away. 

But "the honor that cometh from God" is very dif- 
ferent from this. It is not a mere name. It is not the 



212 BIBLE MODELS. 

honor of what we are called, but of what we are made 
to be. It is something that will help to make us good, 
and great, and happy. And it is something that will 
last forever. When the angel Gabriel wanted to give 
Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, an idea of 
the honor which belonged to him, he said: "I am 
Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God." St. Luke 
i : 19. He had' the honor of standing close by the 
throne of God in heaven. He had this honor eighteen 
hundred years ago. He has this honor still, and he 
will have it forever. 

And so it was with Samuel. He had the honor of 
being the servant of God. He had the honor of 
speaking, and working for God, when he was here on 
earth, more than three thousand years ago. And he 
has this honor still. God says, "Them that honor me, 
I will honor." Samuel honored God by beginning to 
serve Him while he was young. And God honored 
him by making him good, and great, and useful ; and 
by causing him to be known, wherever the Bible is 
read, as "the friend of God." What an honor this 
was ! We may well say that Samuel's early piety 
made him "a model of honor." 

And, in the same way God will honor all those who 
serve Him, and especially those who learn to serve 
Him while they are young. God honors his servants 
by teaching them to do honorable things. Here are 
some illustrations of what I mean. 

The True Gentleman. Harry Edmon was a Chris- 
tian boy. One day while playing with some other 
boys in the street, he stumbled against an old man, 
and knocked his cane out of his hand. 




JESUS HEALS THE LEPER 



214 BIBLE MODELS. 

In a moment, he ran and picked up the cane, and 
handing it respectfully to the old man, he said : 

"Pardon me, sir, we were playing- too roughly. I 
hope I did not hurt you." 

"Oh, not a bit!" said the old man, very pleasantly. 
" Boys will be boys, and it's best they should be. Go 
on with your play, my lad." 

Harry took off his cap, and made a polite bow, and 
then turned to his companions. One of the boys said 
to him, "Harry, why did you take off your cap so 
politely to that old fellow ? He's no gentleman. He's 
only Giles the huckster." 

"That makes no difference," said Harry; "the ques- 
tion is not whether he is a gentleman, but whether / 
am one." That was honorable in Harry. 

Here are some sweet, simple lines about a poor 
little boy, who was trying to be a Christian, and how 
he made himself a model of honor. They are headed 

JAMIE THE GENTLEMAN. 

There's a dear little ten-year-old down the street, 
With eye so merry, and smile so sweet ; 

I love to stay him whenever we meet, 
And I call him Jamie the gentleman. 

His home is of poverty, gloomy and bare, 

His mother is old with want and care — • 

There's little to eat, and little to wear 
In the home of Jamie the gentleman. 

He never complains — though his clothes be old, 

No dismal whinings at hunger or cold ; 
For a cheerful heart, that is better than gold, 

Has brave little Jamie the gentleman. 




CHILDHOOD'S PRAYER. 



2l6 BIBLE MODELS. 

His standing at school is always ten — 
"For diligent boys make wise, great men, 
And I am bound to be famous some day, and then — " 
Proudly says Jamie the gentleman — 

" My mother shall rest on cushions of down, 
The finest lady in all the town, 
And wear a velvet and satin gown " — 
Thus dreams Jamie the gentleman. 

"Trust ever in God," and " Be brave and true" — 
Jamie has chosen these precepts two ; 
Glorious mottoes for me, and for you ; 
May God bless Jamie the gentleman ! 

If we take these two precepts of little Jamie, and 
follow them out, they will make us models of honor, 
just as they did with him. 

Samuel was a model of early piety. And there 
were four good things about his piety. It made him — 
a model of usefulness — a model of happiness — a model 
of perseverance — and a model of honor. Let us follow 
his example in trying to serve God while we are 
young, and it will have the same effect upon us. 

"Like Samuel let us say 

Whene'er we read his word, 
Speak, Lord ! we would obey 

The voice that Samuel heard ; 
And when we in thy house appear 

Speak, for thy servants wait to hear." 



DAVID, THE MODEL OF PRAISE. 



" Seven times a day will I praise Thee." — Psalm cxix : 1 64. 




}K might find a good many models in 
David's life and character. We might 
speak of him as the model shepherd. 
What care he took of his sheep ! And 
when the lion, and the bear came, and 
ran away with one of his lambs, how bravely he went 
after them, and fought them, and brought his stolen 
lambs home again ! We might speak of him as the 
model warrior. How nobly he offered himself to go 
and fight the great Philistine giant, when all the sol- 
diers in Saul's army were afraid of him, and fled from 
him, as often as he came, and offered to fight them! 
We might speak of him as the model musician. He 
learned to play on the harp, when he was a boy taking 
care of his father's sheep. And he became so good 
a player, that he was known as one of the best musi- 
cians in the country. And when King Saul was 
troubled with an evil spirit that made him sad and 
sorrowful, David was sent for, to come and play be- 
fore the King. And he played so sweetly, that his 

217 



2l8 BIBLE MODELS. 

music used to cure the King. It took away his 
melancholy, and made him feel bright and cheerful 
again. 

And then we might speak of him as the model 
King or ruler. He fought the battles of his people 
so bravely, and always got the victory over their 
enemies. He was like a father to his people. He 
was so kind to them, and took such care of them, 
and ruled them so faithfully, that he was a real bless- 
ing to all the people of Israel. 

But we are going to pass all these things by, and 
to speak of David as the model of praise. He was 
remarkable for many things, but for nothing was he 
so remarkable as for the way in which he praised 
God. There are one hundred and fifty Psalms, in 
the book of Psalms in the Bible. David wrote nearly 
all of those Psalms ; and he has more to say about 
praising God, in these Psalms, than about anything 
else. The word praise is found nearly a hundred 
times in these Psalms. 

We do not any of us praise God as much as we 
ought to do. And anything, that may help us to learn 
to praise Him better, will be very useful to us. And so 
we shall speak of David as the model of praise. And 
there are four things about this model for us to 
speak of. 

In the first place, David was a model of praise for — 
temporal — blessings. 

We do not praise God, as much as we ought, for 
our temporal blessings. His mercies to us are new 
every morning. "He gives us life, and breath, and 
all things." He is pouring His benefits upon us all 




AN EASTERN SHEPHERD. 



2 20 BIBLE MODELS. 

the time; and we should be constantly praising Him 
for these blessings. The light of day, — the air of 
heaven, — the use of our hands and feet, our eyes, and 
ears, — the food we eat, — the clothing we wear, — the 
health, and strength we have, — these are temporal 
blessings that God is giving us all the time. He gives 
them to us for nothing ; and the least that we can 
do in return, is to thank Him, and praise Him con- 
tinually for them. 

Here are some illustrations of the way in which we 
should do this. The first is a story called — The Con- 
tented Shepherd Boy. 

This boy was minding his sheep in a beautiful 
valley. He felt so happy that he was all the time 
singing out, to express the joy and thankfulness of 
his heart. Wherever he was, the glad echoes of his 
cheerful voice could be heard. One day the king of 
that country was out hunting. He was not known 
as the king, except by the friends who were with him. 
He heard this poor boy's merry songs, and thought 
he would like to have a little talk, with him. So he 
made his way up to the boy, as he sat singing under 
a tree, while he was watching his sheep. 

"Well, my boy," said the king, "tell me what it is 
that makes you so happy." 

"Why shouldn't I be happy?" said the boy; "the 
king of the country is not richer than I am." 

"Indeed!" replied the king. " Please tell me what 
you've got to make you so rich." 

"Well, you see, sir, the sun in yonder clear blue 
sky, shines as brightly for me, as it does for the king. 
The trees on the mountains, and the grass and flowers 



DAVID, THE MODEL OF PRAISE. 22 1 

in the valley do as much to please my sight, and make 
me glad, as they can do for him. Look at these two 
hands ! why I wouldn't be without them for all the gold 
and silver that the king owns ; and then I have the 
use of my eyes and my ears ; I have all the food I 
want to eat, and all the clothes I want to wear, and 
what can the king have more than this ?" 

"You are right," said the king, with a smile. "But 
your greatest treasure is, that you have a contented, 
grateful heart. Keep it so, my young friend, and you 
will always be happy." 

That boy had learned the lesson of thanking God 
for his temporal blessings, as David did. 

Here is a story called — " Every Day Blessings" that 
comes in very well here. 

A gentleman was once stopped in the streets of 
London, by a stranger, who said to him: "Sir, did 
you ever thank God for the use of your reason?" 

"I don't know that I ever did," replied the gentle- 
man. "Then do it quickly," said the stranger, "for 
I have lost mine, and you may lose yours, if you are 
not thankful for it." We are very apt to forget to 
thank God for his daily blessings. And we do not 
know how much they are worth, till they are taken 
from us. We see this in the story of a little boy. He 
lived in Scotland. His name was James. When 
about eight years old, he had the smallpox. When he 
was getting better of it, his eyes were closed, so that 
he could not see. He was a sweet, gentle boy, and all 
the family loved him. He had a little sister named 
Annie, somewhat older than himself. She was very 
fond of him, and tried in every way to make him happy. 



2 22 BIBLE MODELS. 

One day they took a long walk together, and sat 
down to rest, at the foot of a great tree. "Annie," 
said James, "what a pleasant day this is! The air 
feels so soft and warm to my face. And it is so nice 
to hear the water running over the smooth stones, 
and the sheep and the lambs bleating in the fields ! 
Oh, how I wish I could see them again ! And hark ! 
there is a bird singing over our heads. How beauti- 
ful it used to be to sit down here, and look to the 
hills, and the clear blue sky; and to see the mill 
yonder, and the pretty ducks swimming in the pond ! 
Oh, Annie, how hard it is to think that I shall never 
see these things again!" And then he burst into 
tears. 

"Don't cry, Jamie clear," said his sister. "You 
may yet be able to see again. There was Daniel 
Scott, you know, who had the smallpox. He was 
blind for weeks ; but then he got well, and now he 
sees as well as ever he did. And you know, as 
mother says, that God will do what is right about it. 
He can open your eyes if that is best. But if he 
leaves you to be blind, He can make you happy in 
some other way. And we will do all that we can for 
you. I'll walk with you, and read to you, and then it 
will not be so bad." 

But poor James could not help thinking of his sad 
state. He sat there with his head upon his hands, 
and his elbows on his knees, and he kept on crying. 
The flood of tears pressed their way between his 
eye-lids, which had stuck together since his sickness ; 
and when he lifted up his head, he called out, "Oh! 
Annie, I can see ! I can see ! There's the brook ; and 




JESUS BRINGS TO LIFE THE RULER'S DAUGHTER. 



224 BIBLE MODELS. 

there's the mill ; and there are the sheep. Thank 
God, my eyes are open again and I can see." 

After that Jamie never forgot to praise God for his 
eye-sight. And this is one of God's temporal bless- 
ings for which we should always praise Him. 

Here is a story about a little girl who was not 
thankful for her daily blessings, and of the way in 
which her mother taught her the lesson of thankful- 
ness. This girl's name was Kate ; her mother's name 
was Mrs. Smith. At the close of the afternoon one 
day, Mrs. Smith called Kate to supper. As she sat 
down to the table Kate said: "I don't want any sup- 
per. There's nothing but bread and milk, and cake 
and berries. The same every night. I'm tired of 
them." 

Mrs. Smith said nothing, but after supper was over, 
she put some things in a basket, and asked Kate to 
take a walk with her. She was going to visit a poor 
sick girl, who lived not far from their house. When 
they reached the place, they climbed up the tottering 
steps to the garret. 

There, on a straw bed, near the only window in 
the room, lay the young girl asleep. She was so 
pale, and thin, and still, that she looked as if she 
was dead. But hearing footsteps woke her, and she 
opened her eyes. Mrs. Smith uncovered her basket, 
and gave the poor girl a drink of milk. Then she 
placed some bread, and cake, and berries on the 
table, and sat down beside the sick girl's bed, to watch 
the pleasure her visit had caused. 

Kate's eyes filled with tears when she saw how 
eagerly the sick girl ate the supper, which she 



DAVID, THE MODEL OF PRAISE. 225 

despised a little while before. That poor girl had 
not tasted a mouthful of anything since the morning. 

Her mother had been away all the day working, 
and now came home wishing that she had something 
nice to bring to her poor sick child. But when she 
found how well she was cared for, her heart was over- 
flowing with thankfulness. That supper seemed a 
feast to them. "If we can only keep a roof over 
our heads," said she, "and have a crust to eat, we 
ought to be thankful." 

Kate never forgot what she saw and heard that 
night. It taught her the lesson of thankfulness. Let 
us all learn the same lesson. If we have a home to 
shelter us, and food to eat, let us never forget to 
praise God for His temporal blessings to us. 

I will finish this part of our subject with some sweet 
lines on "The Causes for Thankfulness" 

1 ' For all that God in mercy sends ; 
For health and children, home and friends, 
For comfort in the time of need, 
For every kindly word and deed, 
For happy thoughts and holy talk, 
For guidance in our daily walk, 
For everything give thanks ! 

"For beauty in this world of ours, 
For verdant grass and lovely flowers, 
For song of birds, for hum of bees, 
For the refreshing summer breeze, 
For hill and plain, for streams and wood, 
For the great ocean's mighty flood, 
For everything give thanks ! 

"For the sweet sleep which comes with night, 
For the returning morning's light, 



2 26 BIBLE MODELS. 

For the bright sun that shines on high, 
For the stars glittering in the sky, 
For these and everything we see, 
O Lord ! our hearts we lift to Thee ; 
For everything give thanks ! ' ' 

When David said, "Seven times a day will I praise 
Thee," we may well speak of him as a model of praise 
for temporal blessings. 

But in the second place, David was a — model of 

PRAISE FOR SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS. 

David was very thankful to God, for the temporal 
blessings bestowed upon him, as we have seen ; but 
he was still more thankful for his spiritual blessings. 
He was always ready to praise God for these. There 
are many passages in the beautiful Psalms he wrote, 
which show this very plainly. This is what he means 
in one place, when he says that God's statutes — "are 
more to be desired than gold ; yea, than much fine 
gold ; sweeter also than honey, and the honey-comb." 
Ps. xix : 10. This is what he means again, when he 
says : " Because thy loving kindness is better than 
life, my lips shall praise thee. My soul shall be satis- 
fied, as with marrow and fatness ; and my mouth shall 
praise thee with joyful lips." Ps. lxiii : 3, 5. In another 
place he says: "Oh, how I love thy law; it is my 
study all the day." Ps. cxix : 97. " The law of thy 
mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and 
silver." Ps. cxix : 72. "I rejoice at thy word as one 
that findeth great spoil." Ps. cxix 1162. "My lips 
shall praise thee when thou hast taught me thy 
statutes." Ps. cxix: 171. "I will praise thy name for 
thy loving kindness, and for thy truth ; for thou hast 




DAVID THE MODEL OP PRAISE. 



2 25 BIBLE MODELS. 

magnified thy word above all thy name." Ps. xxxviii : 
2. We might quote many other passages for the 
same purpose ; but these are enough to show us 
how truly David was a model of praise for spiritual 
blessings. 

And it is easy to find illustrations of those who 
have followed David's example in this respect. Let us 
look at some of these. Here is one that we may call — 

An Example of Thankfulness. We will suppose 
that you are going with me to visit a poor suffer- 
ing Christian woman. We enter her room, where 
she lives by herself. The room is clean and airy. 
A bright little fire is burning in the grate. And in 
a corner of the room, you may see a woman, about 
sixty-four years of age, sitting up in her bed. Her 
hands are folded and stiff; and her whole body is 
crippled by the rheumatism, which she has had for 
thirty-eight years. For sixteen of those years she 
has not been able to be moved from her bed, nor 
to look out of the window, nor even to lift her 
hand to her face. But listen! with a cheerful voice 
she is thanking God for enabling her to use one 
thumb. She has a two-pronged fork fastened to 
a stick, with which she can take off, and put on her 
old-fashioned spectacles. By the same means, she 
can feed herself, and sip her tea through a tube, help- 
ing herself with that one thumb. And there is another 
thing she can do with her fork ; she can turn over the 
leaves of a large Bible, which lies near her. A Chris- 
tian lady, who visited her, lately asked her if she did 
not feel very lonely. In a pleasant, cheerful voice, she 
said: "I am alone, and yet not alone." "How can 



DAVID, THE MODEL OF PRAISE. 229 

that be?" asked the lady. "Why, you see, ma'am, I 
feel that the Lord is always with me ; and that I have 
much for which to praise and bless His holy name." 
"What is it that makes you feel so happy?" Now, 
mark what that poor sufferer said, in answer to this 
question: "Oh, it is the thought that my sins are 
forgiven me ; and the thought of the wondrous love 
of Jesus, my blessed Saviour. I am content to lie 
here, as long as it is His blessed will that I should do 
so ; and then, I know that He will take me to Himself 
forever." 

What glorious praise that poor sufferer offered for 
her spiritual blessings ! 

Here is another illustration which we may call — 
Poor Mary. She was left alone in the world, and 
had a hard time to get along. But she was a Chris- 
tian, and had a heart always thankful to God for the 
spiritual blessings He had given her. One day, as 
she was returning to her lonely and desolate home, 
Mary overtook a rich lady who lived in the same 
neighborhood. She was a professing Christian too, 
but she had not learned the lesson of thanking God 
for her spiritual blessings. She had just lost one of 
her children, and was expecting to lose another. 
She was very sad and sorrowful. When poor Mary 
overtook her, the lady told her about her affliction, 
and talked on in such a way, that you might have 
thought she had not one single blessing left. Mary 
waited till she got through with what she had to say. 
Then she spoke very kindly, and lovingly to her, 
and tried to comfort her. She reminded her of the 
goodness and faithfulness of God, who had prom- 



23O BIBLE MODELS. 

ised never to forsake His people. She exhorted her 
to be thankful for the many mercies she still enjoyed, 
and begged her to trust to the love of God, to give 
her all she needed. 

By this time they had reached Mary's humble 
home. She asked the lady to step in ; and taking 
her to an empty closet, she opened the door, and said, 
"Pray, ma'am, do you see anything there?" The lady 
answered — "No." She took her to another closet 
and repeated the question — "Pray, ma'am, do you see 
anything here?" The reply again was — "No." She 
took her to a third closet, and once more asked the 
question — "Pray, ma'am, do you see anything here ?" 
The lady was a little displeased, and answered rather 
sharply — "No; why do you ask me these questions?" 
"Why, ma'am, those empty closets contain all that I 
have in the world. But why should I be unhappy ? I 
have Christ in my heart, and heaven in my eye. I 
have God's own word of promise that 'bread shall be 
given me, and water shall be sure,' as long as I live 
in this world ; and when I die, there is a bright crown 
of glory laid up for me in heaven. Should I not 
praise God for these great blessings ?" 

And, in this way, poor Mary tried to teach her rich 
neighbor the lesson of thankfulness to God for His 
spiritual blessings. 

Here is a beautiful illustration of the lesson now 
before us, given by a little girl. She had been se- 
verely scalded, and was carried to a neighboring 
hospital, to linger there a while in great suffering, 
and then to die. Now most young persons would 
have been very sad and sorrowful under these cir- 



DAVID, THE MODEL OF PRAISE. 23 1 

cumstances. But this little girl was a Christian, and 
the knowledge she had of God's spiritual mercies to 
her, made her thankful and happy in the midst of her 
great sufferings. Night had come, and most of the 
patients, and the nurses too, were asleep in that 
hospital. But, as the clock struck — one — suddenly a 
low, sweet song was heard, coming from the cot, on 
which that suffering child was lying ; and these were 
the words she sang : — 

"Jesus, the name to sinners dear. 
The name to sinners given ; 
It scatters all my guilty fear, 
And turns my hell to heaven." 

Then the voice was still for a while. But presently 
it was heard again, and seemed to sound more like 
heaven than earth, as it sang out these words : — 

".Happy, if with my latest breath 
I may but gasp His name, 
Preach Him to all, and cry in death, 
Behold, behold the Lamb ! ' ' 

The nurse hastened to the bedside of her little 
charge; but before she reached it, the lips which had 
been singing were still in death. The child's spirit 
had winged its way to heaven. She died in the very 
act of praising God for the spiritual blessings He had 
given her. 

I will close this part of our sermon, with some sweet 
and simple lines about : — 

The Love of Jesus. 
They contain the substance of all that I have been 



232 BIBLE MODELS. 

trying to teach under this point of our subject ; and I 
think the youngest scholar will be able to understand 
them : 

"My mother loves me dearly, 
My father loves me well; 
But Jesus loves me better 
Than ever I can tell. 

"My parents give me food, and clothes, 
And many a loving kiss; 
But Jesus Christ, my Saviour, 
Loves me much more than this. 

"With brothers dear, and sister, 
And many a friend I'm blest; 
And they love me always fondly, 
But, Jesus loves me best. 

" He came on earth to save me, 
He takes me for his lamb ; 
And He is always watching 
Around me where I am. 

"His love gives all I have on earth, 
His love gives all I see; 
But, most of all, in His sweet love, 
He gave Himself for me. 

"So when, both night and morning, 
I pray to God in heaven, 
And thank Him for the blessings 
That He to me has given, 

"I'll say — 'For these, I bless Thee, 
Lord Jesus, God above ; 
But, most of all, I thank Thee, 
Lord Jesus, for thy love. ' ' ' 



DAVID, THE MODEL OF PRAISE. 233 

In the second place, David was a model of praise 
for spiritual blessings. 

In the third place, David was a model of- — growing — 
praise. 

When he had learned to praise God for His mer- 
cies, he went on praising Him more and more. When 
he first began to praise God, he only speaks of 
doing it once a day. He says: "My voice shalt 
thou hear in the morning" "I will sing of thy mercy 
in the morning." Ps. lix : 16. Then it seemed as if 
he thought that once a day, was not often enough 
to praise God; and so he speaks of his "prayer as 
being set forth as incense, and of the lifting up of 
his hands as an evening sacrifice." Ps. cxli : 2. Then 
he speaks of "praying and praising God in the even- 
ing, in the morning, and at noonday." Ps. lvii : 17. 
That was three times a day. And then, here in 
the words we have chosen for our text, he says: 
"Seven times a day will I praise Thee." This shows 
how the spirit of praise was growing in David. First 
he said he would praise God once a day ; then twice ; 
then three times; and now he says — " Seven times a 
day will I praise Thee." 

Now we might think that seven times a day was 
often enough for praising God. But David did not 
think so. 

The spirit of praise grew so strong in him, and his 
sense of God's mercies got to be so great, that we 
find him saying, in one place, "I will bless the Lord 
at all times;" and in another, " My praise shall be 
continually of thee." Ps. lxxi : 6. 

And again he says, " I will hope continually, and 



234 BIBLE MODELS. 

will praise Thee more and more!' Ps. lxxi : 14. And 
so we may well speak of David, as a model of grow- 
ing praise. 

And if we look carefully at the book of Psalms, 
which David wrote, we can see plainly how the spirit 
of praise was growing in him all his days. When 
he first began to write the Psalms he had very little 
to say about praising God. In the first seven Psalms, 
the word praise only occurs once. But as he gets 
further on, he talks a great deal about praising God. 
And the further he goes, the more he has to say about 
it. And at last, it seems as if he could hardly speak 
of anything else but the thanks, and the praise that 
he owed to God. The last Psalm in the book is a 
very short one. It has only six verses in it ; and yet 
the word praise is found in that short Psalm — thirteen 
times ! He says: "Praise God in his sanctuary; praise 
him in the firmament of his power. Praise him in his 
mighty acts ; praise him according to his excellent 
greatness. Let everything that hath breath, praise 
the Lord." How well we may say that David was a 
model of growing praise ! 

And we find it the same still. When people truly 
learn the lesson of praising God, they find that the 
spirit of praise grows in them, and like David they 
want to praise Him more and more. 

Here are some nice stories which show us how true 
this is. 

Our first story is one we may call — 

"Learning the Lesson of Praise." A clergyman, 
in England, had a poor woman connected with his 
church, who had never learned to thank God for 



DAVID, THE MODEL OF PRAISE. 235 

His mercies to her. She supported herself and 
family, as well as she could by washing. Her hus- 
band was a sober, industrious man, but his health 
was poor, and he was not able to do much work. 
Whenever the minister called to see this woman, 
whose name was Jones, he found her gloomy and 
sad, and complaining of her many trials. She 
seemed to think that she had nothing for which to 
praise God. So one day when he was visiting her, 
the minister thought he would try and teach her to 
begin to praise God for the mercies she had. When 
he first spoke about it, she shook her head, and said, 
"She didn't know what she had to thank God for." 

"Why, yes, Mrs. Jones," said the minister, "there 
are at least two great mercies that you have. There, 
for instance, is your good health. Think what a great 
blessing that is ! You never have to send for the 
doctor, and you are never interrupted in your work 
by sickness. Surely this is something to be thankful 
for ! And then you have a good husband. He never 
gets drunk, and is always kind to you. He cannot 
work indeed, as much as he would like to do. But 
when he is able to work, instead of spending his wages 
at the tavern, he brings them home to you, and does 
all he can to help you. This is a great mercy. Now, 
I want you, when you say your prayers to-night, to 
thank God for these two great blessings. And then 
I want you to keep on doing this every day." She 
promised to do so, and then the minister left her. 

It was several weeks before he had time to call on 
her again. But the next time he came to visit her, 
before knocking at the door, he was surprised to hear 



236 BIBLE MODELS. 

a merry voice singing cheerfully in the house. He 
had never heard anything of this kind there before ; 
and he wondered what it could mean. Then he 
knocked, and Mrs. Jones opened the door. Her face 
lighted up with a pleasant, cheerful smile, as soon as 
she saw him. 

"I am glad to hear you singing, Mrs. Jones," said 
the minister. 

"Oh, yes, sir," she replied, "I feel very happy now. 
I'm very much obliged to you for teaching me to thank 
God for those two mercies. But you see, sir, when I 
began with thanking God for my good health, and my 
good husband, I found I couldn't stop there. I had 
to thank Him for my good children ; and then for my 
good home. Then I had to thank Him for teaching 
me to know Him, and love Him, and for giving me 
the hope of heaven when I die. And now, when I 
begin to thank Him, I find so many mercies for which 
to praise Him, that I hardly know where to stop." 
And here we see what a growing thing the spirit of 
praise is, when once we begin to exercise it in the 
right way. 

How Many Mercies in a Year. A little boy, who 
was very clever at figures, had heard so much about 
the goodness of God, that he thought he would try 
and reckon up how many mercies he received in a 
year. So he took his slate and pencil, and began to 
set them down. 

"Let me see, there are 365 days in a year, and so I 
must put down 365 mercies. But then, I get more 
than one mercy a day. Why, every hour brings some 
mercy. So I must multiply 365 days by 24, the num- 



DAVID, THE MODEL OF PRAISE. 237 

ber of hours in a day, and this makes 8,760 mercies 
for the year. But then, God's mercies come oftener 
than once an hour. Why, every minute brings a 
mercy. And if I multiply God's hourly mercies by 
60, the number of minutes in an hour, it makes my 
mercies for the year to be more than half a million. 
How great a number this is !" 

"But let me count my greater mercies," said the 
little fellow. "There are my dear father and mother, 
who have been spared to me all these years. Two 
big marks for this. Then one for health preserved ; 
another for food; another for clothing; and then for 
teachers, books, pleasant companions, and merry play, 
more still. And then there's the Bible, a big, broad 
mark for that. And then the Sabbaths, fifty-two every 
year. But oh, dear me ! my slate is full, and yet I 
don't seem to be half through with counting my mer- 
cies. So I must give it up." 

And this was just what King David himself was 
obliged to do. I don't know whether he tried to 
reckon up his mercies as this little boy did, by writing 
them on a slate. But I do know that when he was 
thinking about God's mercies to him, he found himself 
at a loss, and was obliged to say: "If I should count 
them they are more in number than the sand." Ps. 
cxxxix : 18. 

And if we try to count God's mercies to us as David 
did, we too shall find them "more in number than the 
sand." 

I will finish this part of our sermon with one more 
story. We may call it — 

Prayer Turned to Praise. A dear little girl, was 



238 BIBLE MODELS. 

kneeling one evening, at her mother's knee, to offer her 
evening prayer, and to thank God for the mercies of the 
day. Soon she reached the point where she was ac- 
customed to say, "God bless my dear mother, and " 

but there she stopped ; her little hands were unclasped, 
and a look of agony, and wonder met her mother's eyes, 
as the words of hopeless sorrow burst from the lips of 
the poor child, and she said, with much feeling, "I can't 
pray for papa any more!' Ever since her little lips 
had learned to speak that dear name, she had been 
accustomed to pray for a blessing on it. It had always 
followed after the name of her mother. But now, 
that dear father was dead. This was the first time 
she had said her prayers since her father's death. 
Her mother waited for some moments. Then she 
asked the child to go on. "She looked at me for a 
moment," said the mother, and then, with a voice 
almost choked with her deep feeling, she said: "Oh, 
mother, I cannot leave him all out. Let me thank 
God that I had such a dear father once; so I can still 
go on, and keep him in my prayers." 

This was very sweet. It shows us how we may turn 
our prayers into praise, and learn to thank God for 
the blessings we have had, as well as for those that 
we now have. And so we may well speak of David 
as a model of growijig praise. 

And then, in the fourth place, we have in David a 
model <?/^— UNIVERSAL PRAISE. 

Universal praise means praise for everything. When 
God makes us well, after we have been sick ; or when 
He makes us successful in our business ; or when He 
gives us kind friends who are able and willing to help 



DAVID, THE MODEL OF PRAISE. 239 

us, we all feel that it is right for us to praise Him, and 
give Him thanks for these blessings. But, when God 
sends sickness upon us, or trials and afflictions of 
other kinds, very few of us ever think of thanking 
God for these things. Yet this is what David did. He 
had learned to praise God for everything He did to 
him. He says in one place, 'All the paths of the 
Lord are mercy and truth?' Ps. xxv : 10. By "the 
paths of the Lord" David meant His acts, His doings, 
what we call His providences, or anything that He 
does. David meant to say that whatever God does 
to His people He does in mercy and in love, and 
therefore we ought to praise Him for it. And so we 
see that David had learned to thank God for every- 
thing ; and in this way he became the model of uni- 
versal praise. 

We see the same thing when he says: "It was 
good for me that I have been afflicted, that I might 
learn thy statutes." Ps. cxix:7i. And again when 
he says — "Thy judgments are good." Ps. cxix : 39. 
"At midnight I will rise, to give thanks unto thee, 
because of thy righteous judgments." Ps. cxix : 62. 
"Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the 
Lord delivereth him out of them all." Ps. xxxiv : 19. 
In all these passages we see clearly how David was 
a model of universal praise. He had learned to 
thank, and praise God for everything that He did for 
him. And we should try to follow the model that 
David has set us in this respect. We find many ex- 
amples of those who have learned to do this ; and it 
is always pleasant to hear about them. 

Here are some illustrations of this kind of praise. 



24O BIBLE MODELS. 

The first story is about — " The Man with One Leg." 
"Well, Uncle Philip," said a little boy one day. 
"what are you looking at so earnestly? I can't see 
anything but a lot of people going by. Is there any- 
thing to be learned from them, Uncle Philip ?" 

"Oh, yes, there is a very good lesson to be learned 
here. If we keep our eyes open, and our hearts 
ready, we may learn a lesson from everything we 
see." 

"Well, I can't see what can be learned from looking 
at that crowd of people. Do tell me, Uncle Philip, 
what lesson you learn from looking at it." 

"That I will gladly do," said his uncle. "Do you 
see yonder poor fellow, with the wooden leg?" 

"Yes, I see him, but I can't tell what lesson is to 
be learned from that." 

"There is a very good lesson we may learn from it. 
I don't know whether the poor fellow lost his leg from 
his own fault, or from his misfortune ; but, if he has 
only made a right use of his loss, he will be able to 
get along faster on the way to heaven with one leg, 
than he used to do with two. And now, mind what 
I say, and you may learn a good lesson to-day. Never 
pass by a man with only one leg, without thanking God 
that you have two!' This will help us in following 
David's model of universal praise. 

Our next story, which teaches us the same lesson, 
may be called — 

Light Out of Darkness. A minister was visiting 
among the poor, in one of the crowded streets of the 
city of Glasgow, in Scotland. He entered one house 
where, in a small, but very clean and neat room, he 



DAVID, THE MODEL OF PRAISE. 24 1 

found a blind man, who was busily at work making a 
mat. In looking at him he was very much struck, with 
the bright, and cheerful expression of the blind man's 
face. He thought he would like to have some talk 
with him, and try and find out what it was that made 
him look so happy. It turned out just as he- expected, 
that the man was a Christian, and that it was his faith 
in Jesus which was filling his heart with joy, and light- 
ing up his face with gladness. 

But the history of that blind man was very striking. 
For thirty years he had lived in the world, without any 
thought of God, or any desire to serve and please 
Him. Though seeing with his bodily eyes, the eyes 
of his soul were blinded. But, at one time, by what 
men call an accident, he lost the use of both his eyes. 
The minister thought that the man must feel his blind- 
ness to be a great calamity, and he began to say such 
things to him as would be likely to comfort him under 
that affliction. . But very soon the blind man inter- 
rupted him by saying: "Please, sir, don't go on talk- 
ing in that way. You don't understand how I feel. 
The loss of my eyes was the greatest blessing I ever 
received. It stopped me in my course of wickedness. 
It led me to see what a sinner I was. It brought me 
to repentance. It taught me to love and serve Jesus. 
It gave me the hope of heaven, which fills my heart 
with joy and gladness. Why, sir, I never saw till I 
was made blind. And now, I thank God every day, 
for the loss of my eye-sight." 

This is a good illustration of the point now before 
us. This man had learned the lesson of universal 
praise. 

16 



242 BIBLE MODELS. 

The Blessing of Affliction. A minister of the gospel 
had been very ill for six weeks. When he was getting 
better, one of his friends called to see him. He said 
to him : " I am very glad, sir, that God is raising you 
up again. But it will be a good while before you will 
be able to preach. And I hope you will not be too 
much troubled on account of your great affliction." 

"Why, my friend," said the minister, "you don't 
understand my case at all. I feel better able to preach 
now, than I did before I was sick. I can say with 
David, 'It was good for me that I have been afflicted.' 
This six weeks sickness has taught me more about the 
Bible than ever I knew before. As long as I live, I 
shall thank God for this sickness." That good man 
was learning the lesson of universal praise. 

A good Christian lady, in England, once wrote 
some beautiful lines, that will come in very well here, 
at the close of our sermon. They are about — What 
we should praise God for. Listen to them : 

"For what shall I praise thee, my God, and my King? 
For what blessings the tribute of gratitude bring ? 
Shall I praise thee for pleasure, for health, and for ease? 
For the spring of delight, and the sunshine of peace ? 

"Shall I praise thee for flowers that bloom'd on my breast? 
For joys in perspective, and pleasures possess'd? 
For the spirits that heighten 'd my days of delight, 
And the slumbers that sat on my pillow by night ? 

' ' For this I should praise thee ! but if only for this, 
I should leave half untold the donation of bliss ; 
I thank thee* for sickness, for sorrow, for care, 
For the thorns I have gather' d, the anguish I bear. 



DAVID, THE MODEL OF PRAISE. 243 

"For nights of anxiety, watchings, and tears, 
A present of pain, a perspective of fears ; 
I praise Thee, I bless Thee, my King, and my God, 
For the good, and the evil, thy hand hath bestow'd." 

That is universal praise indeed ! It is thanking God 
for everything. 

And thus we have David set before us as the model 
of praise. And there are four good points about this 
model, for us to try and imitate. In the first place, he 
was the model of praise for temporal blessings ; in the 
second place, he was the model of praise for spiritual 
blessings; in the third place, he was the model of 
growing praise ; and in the fourth place, he was the 
model of universal praise. 

Let us try to follow this model, and it will do us 
good all our days. 

"Seven times a day will I praise Thee." 




DAVID, THE MODEL USER 
GODS WORD. 



OF 



O how I love thy law! it is my meditation all the 
day." — Psalm cxix 197. 




'Y the "law" of God, of which David here 

speaks, we understand him to refer to 

what we call — "the word of God," or 

so much of the Bible as was then 

written. Of all the servants of God, 

mentioned in the Scriptures, we read of none who 

seemed to love, and delight in God's word, and who 

had so much to say about it as he did. 

This 119th Psalm, from which our text is taken, 
is the longest chapter in the Bible. It contains 176 
verses ; and in almost every one of these verses, 
David has something to say expressrve of the feel- 
ing with which he regarded the word of God. He 
never makes use of either of the two words that we 
most commonly apply to God's word, viz. — the Bible, 
or the Scriptures. But "he uses a Variety of terms, 
when speaking of what we mean by the Bible. In 
one place he calls it — the word of God ; in another — 
his lazu — his commandments — his pi'ecepts — his testimo- 




DAVID THE PSALMIST. 



246 BIBLE MODELS. 

nies — his statutes — his judgments, and so on. But these 
all mean in substance, the same thing. They all refer 
to the word of God, or, as we call it, the Bible. And 
if David had so much to say, in praise of the small 
portion of God's word, which had been written in 
his day, what would he have said if he had known the 
whole Bible, as we have it now — including the Pro- 
verbs — and the Prophets — and the Gospels — and the 
Epistles — and the Revelation of St. John ? And the 
great reason why David thought so much of the small 
portion of the Bible which he had, was that he be- 
lieved, with the apostle Paul, that — "all Scripture is 
given by inspiration of God" — (2 Tim. iii : 16) — and 
with the apostle Peter, that the men who wrote the 
Scriptures — "spake as they were moved by the Holy 
Ghost." (2 Peter i : 21.) And the meaning of what 
these two apostles have here said, is — that both the 
thoughts made known to us, by "the holy men of old," 
who wrote the Scriptures, and the words, in which they 
expressed these thoughts, are God's. They not only 
thought what the Holy Ghost led them to think ; but 
they expressed those thoughts, in the words which 
the Holy Ghost taught them to use. "They spake as 
they were moved by the Holy Ghost." The Bible con- 
tains God's thoughts to us, expressed in God's words. 
And it is this, which makes the Bible so different, 
from any other book that ever was written. This was 
what David believed about the Bible. This was what 
the apostles Paul, and Peter, both believed about it. 
And if this was the way in which David looked, upon 
the small portion of the Bible which was written in his 
day, we do not wonder to hear him say of it in the 



DAVID, THE MODEL USER OF GOD S WORD. 247 

words of our text : " O how I love thy law ! it is my 
meditation all the day." 

David would have been quite ready to unite, in all 
that one has said, about the word of God in these 
sweet lines : — 

"Thy thoughts are here, my God, 
Expressed in words divine, 
The utterance of heavenly lips 
In every sacred line. 

"Each word of Thine a gem, 
From the celestial mines, 
A sunbeam from that holy heaven, 
Where holy sunlight shines." 

Or as another writer thus speaks : — 

"This holy book I'd rather own 
Than all the gold and gems, 
That e'er in monarch's coffers shone, 
Than all their diadems. 

"Nay, were the seas one chrysolite, 
The earth one golden ball, 
And diadems all the stars of night, 
This book outweighs them all." 

In the 119th Psalm, where our text is found, David 
speaks of about forty different ways, in which he made 
use of the word of God. And in view of all these, we 
may well speak of him as — the model user of God's 
woj'd. It would make a long sermon if we should 
undertake to speak of all the points. We shall not 
attempt to do this. But out of them we may select 
— seven — of which to speak. In the model which 
David sets us, he points out seven different ways in 



248 BIBLE MODELS. 

which he made use of the word of God. And we 
should try to follow this model, if we wish to secure 
to ourselves all the benefits, which God intends that 
we should derive from His word. 

The first use, that David made of God's word was, 
for — meditation — or to give him something to think 
about. In our text he says: "O, how I love thy law! 
it is my meditation all the day." This means that he 
was in the habit of reading some of it every morning, 
and then of remembering it, and keeping it in his mind 
all through the day. 

And this is a very proper use to make of God's 
word. This is what we should all try to do. We have 
many striking examples of the way in which this has 
been done by God's children, in different parts of the 
world. 

The Rev. William Romaine, a useful clergyman of 
the Church of England, for the last thirty years of his 
life, read and studied, no other book than the Bible. 
Surely, like David, he was making it his meditation all 
the day ! 

Joshua Barnes, a good English merchant, always 
carried a New Testament in his pocket. He read that 
Testament through one hundred and twenty times. 

A pious English physician used to -read fifteen chap- 
ters of the Bible every day. He read five chapters in 
the morning ; five at noon ; and five at night. 

A pious French nobleman, named De Renty, always 
read three chapters of the Bible in the morning, kneel- 
ing on his knees, and with his head uncovered. 

Alphonso, King of Spain, read over the whole Bible, 
together with a large commentary — fourteen times. 



DAVID, THE MODEL USER OF GOD S WORD. 249 

And a well-known Christian prince, of Austria, read 
over the whole Bible twenty-seven times. 

These men were following David's example, in medi- 
tating on God's word all the day. 

Here is a good story about a Scotchman. We may 
call it — 

Feasting on God's Word. "Where have you been 
reading this morning. Uncle?" asked little Sandy. 

"Weel, Sandy," said the old man, "I hae been 
getting a wonderful feast yesterday and to-day, out of 
the last two verses of the eighth chapter of Romans." 

"And haven't you read any more than those two 
verses in two days ?" asked Sandy in surprise. 

"Oh, you see, Sandy," said the old man, "there's a 
mine of golden treasure in these verses, and I've been 
trying to dig down to the bottom of it. I've been 
doing wi' these verses as I do wi' the sugar-plums 
your Aunt Mary makes me, when I've a sore throat. 
Now and then she puts one of them in her mouth. 
But she jist gies it a chew or twa, and then it's done 
with. But I lay mine in my cheek, and let it lie, and 
slowly melt away, and do me good for half a day. 

"And there's jist the same difference in the way 
folks use God's blessed word. Some gallop through 
a chapter, and then turn away and forget it. But that's 
nae my way. I like to tak' a sweet, wee bit of a verse, 
and dowi' it jist as I do wi' the sugar-plums. I let it 
lie in my soul, as the plums do in my mouth, and melt 
slowly away ; and so it fills my soul wi' sweetness, for 
a day, or a week, or a month at a time. This is what 
I call — feasting on the word of God." 

That old Scotchman was making the very same use 



250 BIBLE MODELS. 

of God's word, that David did, when he said: "O, how 
I love thy law! it is my meditation all the day." 

Here are some sweet lines, written by the late Miss 
Frances Havergal, on the precious promise — 

"Certainly I will be with thee!' 

They show us how she meditated on God's word, 
just as David and the old Scotchman did. 

" Certainly I will be with thee !" Father I have found it true; 
To Thy faithfulness and mercy I would set my seal anew, 
All my life Thy grace hath kept me, Thou my help indeed hast 

been ; 
Marvellous the loving kindness every day and hour hath seen. 

" Certainly I will be with thee !" Blessed Spirit, come to me ; 
Rest upon me, dwell within me, let my heart Thy temple be ! 
Through all the days before me, Holy One with me abide ! 
Teach me, comfort me, and calm me ; be my ever present Guide. 

' ' Certainly I will be with thee ! ' ' Starry promise in the night ! 

All uncertainties like shadows, flee away before the light. 
" Certainly I will be with thee !" He hath spoken, I have heard ! 

True of old, and true this moment, I will trust Jehovah's word. 

The first use that David made of God's word was 
fo r — niedita tion . 

The second use that David made of God's word was 
for — LIGHT. 

He says in the 130th verse of this 119th Psalm: 
"The entrance of thy word giveth light!' David was 
all in the dark about his soul, till he became acquainted 
with the word of God. And we are all in the same 
condition. We are born into this world with our souls 
in the dark. We are in the dark about ourselves; 
about God ; about heaven, and the way to get there. 




DAVID IS ANOINTED KING OVER ISRAEL. 



252 BIBLE MODELS. 

And we never can get any light on these great matters 
till we come to the word of God for it. But as soon 
as we come here, for instruction, the light begins to 
shine around us. In the 105th verse of this Psalm, 
David says: "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, 
and a light unto my path." It shows us the way in 
which God would have us walk; and tells us how we 
can get strength to walk in that way. Here are some 
illustrations of the way in which God's word throws 
light on the path of those who are walking in darkness. 
The first of these may be called — 

Light on the Traveler s Path. An American g-en- 
tleman, who was a Christian, was traveling by himself 
in the Holy Land. At Jerusalem he was taken sick 
with malarial fever. There was no friend near him. 
The wide ocean was rolling between his family and 
himself. And when he thought that perhaps he might 
die there, a stranger among strangers, it made him feel 
very sad and low-spirited. One day, when he was just 
in this state of feeling, a stranger called at the house 
and asked to see him. Without p-ivino- his name, after 
a short conversation with him, he proposed to read a 
portion of Scripture. The request was granted, and 
the stranger read the 121st Psalm ; and then, without 
saying a word, he went away. This Psalm is very 
short. There are only eight verses in it ; but they are 
all very beautiful. The last two verses in the Psalm 
read thus: "The Lord shall preserve thee from all 
evil: He shall preserve thy soul. The Lord shall pre- 
serve thy going out and thy coming in, from this time 
forth forevermore." Now this short portion of God's 
word had a singular effect on that sick man. If the 



DAVID, THE MODEL USER OF GODS WORD. 253 

angel Gabriel had come down from heaven, with a 
message from God unto him, it could not have given 
him more light, and comfort, than he found from this 
portion of God's word. His gloom and sadness all 
disappeared. He became bright and cheerful. He 
soon got quite well, and went on his way rejoicing. 

Our next story may be called — 

The Great Problem. A young man, who was a stu- 
dent in one of the colleges at Oxford, England, was 
very fond of mathematics. He was the first of his 
class in this branch of study, and felt very proud of 
his success. He was constantly asking his classmates 
to give him some hard problem to solve. He had one 
classmate who had lately become a Christian, and who 
was very anxious that his mathematical friend should 
be a Christian too. 

So he came to his room one day, and said to him: 
"John, here's a very important problem, which has 
occupied my mind a great deal of late. I wish you 
would help me to solve it." Then he handed him a 
piece of paper, carefully doubled up, and went away. 

As soon as his friend was gone, John eagerly un- 
folded the paper ; but, instead of a question in mathe- 
matics, he found written there this question from the 
Bible: 

"What shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole 
world and lose his own soul ; or what shall a man give 
in exchange for his soul ?" 

This made him very angry. He tore the paper up, 
and threw it in the fire. Then he turned to his studies 
again. But he could not get that great question out 
of his mind. It led him to see how sinfully he was 



254 BIBLE MODELS. 

acting in neglecting his soul. He never rested till he 
had turned in penitence and faith to Jesus ; and so 
saved his soul. He afterwards became an earnest and 
successful minister. And all the good, resulting from 
his life and labors, was brought about by the light 
which shone from that single passage of God's word. 

I have one other illustration under this part of our 
subject. We may call it — 

The Wonderful Lamp. A little ragged errand-boy 
was busy one day, in the city of London, with a piece 
of chalk in his hand, trying to write on a wooden gate 
this verse from the Bible: " Thy word is a lamp to my 
feet." He was so busy with his work, that he did not 
notice a kind-looking old gentleman, who, after walk- 
ing slowly past him twice, returned, and stood behind 
watching him. 

"M-y," said the little fellow, repeating the letters 
aloud, as he wrote them with the chalk; "f-double e-t, 
feet." 

"Well done, my little man, well done," said the old 
gentleman. "Where did you learn that?" 

"At the ragged school, sir," said the boy, who was 
half frightened, thinking perhaps that the old gentle- 
man would hand him over to the police, for writing on 
the gate. 

" Don't be afraid, my boy. I'm not going to hurt 
you. So you learned that text in the ragged school? 
Do you know what it means ?" 

" No, sir," said the boy. 

"What is a lamp?" 

"A lamp? Why, a lamp! It's a thing that gives 
lierht." 



DAVID, THE MODEL USER OF GOD S WORD. 255 

"And what is the word here spoken of?" 

"It's the Bible, sir." 

"That's right. Now how can the Bible be a lamp 
and give light ?" 

"I dun'no," said the boy, "'cept you set it on fire." 

"There's a better way than that, my lad. Suppose 
you were going down some lonely lane, on a dark 
night, with an unlighted lamp in your hand, and a box 
of matches in your pocket, what would you do ?" 

"Why, light the lamp, sir," said the boy, surprised 
that any one should ask such a simple question. 

"What would you light it for?" 

"To show me the road, sir." 

" Very well. Now suppose you were walking be- 
hind me one day, and saw me drop a shilling, what 
would you do?" 

" Pick it up and give it to you, sir." 

" But wouldn't you want to keep it yourself?" 

" I should want to ; but I wouldn't do it." 

"Why not?" 

" Because that would be stealing, and the Bible says 
we mustn't steal. And is the Bible called a lamp, 
because it shows us the right way to walk in?" asked 
the boy. 

"That's just it, my lad. And now do you think it 
worth while to take this good old lamp, and let it light 
you right through life?" 

"Yes, sir." 

"Why?" 

" Because if I'm honest, I sha'n't stand no chance 
of going to prison." 

"And what else?" 



256 BIBLE MODELS. 

The boy thought a moment, and then said : 

"If I mind the Bible, I shall go to heaven when I 
die." 

" Yes, that's the best reason for using this lamp. It 
will show you the right way to heaven. Good-by, 
my lad. Here's a shilling for you. Mind you use 
this lamp." 

"Sir," said the little fellow, clasping the shilling, and 
taking off his ragged cap — "I'll mind." 

The second thing for which David used the Bible 
was for — light. 

The third tiling for which David used God's word 
zuas for CLEANSING. 

In the 9th verse of this 1 19th Psalm, David asks the 
question how a young man can cleanse his ways. And 
the answer which he gives is, that it can only be done 
by the right use of God's word. And it was just this 
use of that word, which led David when he was re- 
penting of his sin, to offer this prayer: — "Wash me 
thoroughly from my wickedness, and cleanse me from 
my sin." Ps. li : 2. And the apostle Paul teaches us 
the same lesson, when he tells us that Christ purifies 
and cleanses His church, — "by the washing of water, 
by the word." Ephesians v : 26. What he means by 
this is, that the word, or truth of God has a purifying- 
power like water ; and that just as things when washed 
in water are made clean by it ; so those who make a 
right use of God's word, find that it has a power to 
purify their hearts, and make them clean. 

And Jesus Himself taught us the same lesson, when, 
in praying to the Father for His people, He said : 
"Sanctify them through thy truth ; thy word is truth." 



DAVID, THE MODEL USER OF GODS WORD. 257 

John xvii:i7. To sanctify, means to purify, or to 
make clean. And God has appointed His word, or 
truth, to be the means of cleansing the hearts and souls 
of His people, and of making them pure and holy. 
Let us look at some examples of the power there is 
in the word of God to cleanse from sin. Our first illus- 
tration may be called ; 

The Power of God's Word. A colporteur in Turkey 
visited a hospital. Among the patients he saw a poor 
Turk lying on his bed very ill. He went up to the 
man, intending to speak a few kind words to him ; but 
he frowned at him so fearfully, and uttered such ter- 
rible curses, that he had to turn away. 

He spoke to the nurse about him. She said: "He 
is the most dreadful man we ever had in the hospital. 
I give him his medicines, and dress his wounds. But 
he is all the time cursing me, so that I am afraid to go 
near him." 

Then the colporteur thought he would offer him a 
copy of the New Testament in Arabic. He opened it, 
and held it up before him. When the Turk saw that 
it was a book printed in his own language, the frown 
on his face passed away, and a pleasant smile took the 
place of it. He held out his hand to receive the book, 
and it was given to him. 

Immediately after this the colporteur had to leave 
that place for some time. On his return he went to 
the hospital to inquire about the sick soldier. "Sir," 
replied the nurse, "I never saw such a change in any 
man, as the reading of that book made in him. His 
rough manner all passed away. His scowling face 
became bright and pleasant. He took his medicine 



258 BIBLE MODELS. 

without a word of cursing, and was kind and gentle. 
As for the New Testament you gave him, he never 
would let it go out of his hand. He was reading it all 
the time, till he died two days ago. And just before 
he died he said he was so happy, because that book 
had taught him how to get his sins pardoned y He 
used God's word as David did, to get his soul cleansed 
from sin. 

Here is an interesting story that illustrates this point 
very nicely. We may call it — 

" What did the Angels Blot it out With?" A mer- 
chant in New Orleans had been successful in business, 
and was very well off. He was born in New England, 
and had a pious mother who had taught him faithfully 
the truths of God's holy word. But, when he grew 
up, and moved away from home, he became acquainted 
with a number of gentlemen who said they did not 
believe the Bible. They were what we call infidels. 
He adopted their views, and became an infidel too. 
He had given up going to church, and did not have a 
Bible in his house. But he had a bright little boy 
about seven years of age. This was the only child he 
had. His name was Theodore, and his father was 
very fond of him. 

"One evening," says this gentleman, "when I came 
home, Theodore was lying on the bed partly un- 
dressed. My wife and I were sitting by an open fire 
in an adjoining room. She had been telling me that 
Theodore had been naughty that day, and that she 
had punished him for it. 

"All was quiet, when suddenly he broke out into a 
loud crying and sobbing. I went in and asked him 



DAVID, THE MODEL USER OF GODS WORD. 259 

what was the matter. 'I don't want it there, father! I 
don't want it there !' 

"'What, my child — what is it?' 

" ' Why, father, I don't want the angels to write down 
in God's book, all the naughty things I have done to- 
day. I don't want them there ; I wish they could be 
blotted out ;' and then, in great distress, he broke out 
crying again. 

"What could I do? To turn away from the dear 
child, in his heart-breaking sorrow, was impossible. 
There was nothing in the teachings of infidelity that 
would meet the case, and give the distressed child any 
comfort. And so, in spite of myself, I was obliged 
to fall back on what my dear mother had taught me 
about the Bible. 

'"Well, you need not cry, my dear child; you can 
have it all blotted out, if you want.' 

"'How, father? how?' he asked. 

"'Why, get down on your knees, and ask God for 
Christ's sake, to blot it all out, and He will do it' 

"I did not have to speak twice. He jumped out 
of bed, and was on his knees in a moment. He was 
silent for a while, and then looking up to me, he said : 
' I don't know what to say. Father, won't you come 
and help me ?' 

" What was I to do ? I had not offered a word of 
prayer to God for years. But the dear boy's distress 
was so great, and he pleaded so earnestly, that, big 
man as I was, I got down on my knees, alongside my 
sorrowing child, and asked God to blot out his sins. 
Then we got up, and he laid himself down on the bed 
again. In a few moments he said — ' Father, are you 



260 BIBLE MODELS. 

sure it's all blotted out?' And then, in spite of my 
infidelity I was compelled to say: 'Why, yes, my dear 
boy, the Bible says so ; if you are really sorry for what 
you have done wrong, and if, from your heart, you 
have asked God for Christ's sake, to blot it out, you 
may be sure that He will do it.' 

"A smile of pleasure passed over his face, as he 
quietly asked : ' But father — what did the angels blot it 
out with T 

"Again putting my infidelity aside, I answered — 
'With the precious blood of Christ.' 

"Then he lay down and went quietly to sleep. 

"When I went into the next room, and told my wife 
what had taken place, both our hearts were melted. 
We wept like children. Then we kneeled down side 
by side, and asked God for Christ's sake, to blot out 
our sins, and make us His dear children." 

Here we see what cleansing power there is in the 
word of God. And this was the third use that David 
made of this word. 

The fourth use that David made of the word of God, 
was for STRENGTH. 

In the 28th verse of this Psalm, David's prayer to 
God is: "Strengthen Thou me according to Thy 
word." There are many places in the Bible, in which 
God promises to give His people strength. One of the 
sweetest of these is found in the 10th verse of the 41st 
chapter of Isaiah. Here God says: "I will strengthen 
thee; yea, I will help thee." 

If we have the Lord Almighty for our Helper, 
what is there that we cannot do? The apostle Paul 
said: "I can do all thing's through Christ strengthen- 




SUFFER LITTLE CHILDREN TO COME UNTO ME, 



262 BIBLE MODELS. 

ing me." And if we make a right use of God's 
word, to get the strength from it, which it is 
designed to give, then, like David and St. Paul, 
we shall find it easy to do all that God tells us 
to do. 

Let us look at some examples of the strength and 
power, that God's people have found in the word of 
God. And the first example furnished us here, we 
find in the case of our blessed Saviour. There He is 
in the wilderness, for forty days to be tempted of 
Satan. And notice now the way in which He met 
those temptations. As He was God, He might have 
said to Satan, at the beginning of those temptations, 
what He did say to him, at the close of them — "Get 
thee hence, Satan ;" and he would have been obliged 
to go. But He allowed Satan to go on tempting Him, 
on purpose that He might show us how we must 
meet temptations, so as to get the victory over them. 
Jesus did not get the victory over Satan by using the 
power that was in Him, as He was God. If He had 
done this, He would have been no example to us. But 
He met all those temptations, and got the victory over 
them, simply by the strength which He found in the 
word of God. Every time that Satan came, and 
tempted Him to do something that was wrong, Jesus 
quoted some passage of Scripture against him. " It 
is written" — "It is written" — "It is written" — was His 
answer all the time. This gave Him the victory. 
And if we hope to get the victory over temptation, as 
Jesus did, we must do it in the same way. The 
strength to be found in the word of God, is the only 
thing that can make us successful here. Here is a 



DAVID, THE MODEL USER OF GOD's WORD. 263 

story which shows how a little boy found strength from 
the Bible to resist temptation. 

This boy's name was Billy Jones. He was a feeble- 
minded boy, with very little education. His mother 
was a good Christian woman, though very poor. She 
had taught him a great deal about the Bible. He had 
committed the Ten Commandments to memory, and 
used to repeat them to his mother every Sunday. 

One day, Billy was sent on a message to the house 
of Mr. Graham, who was the richest man in that neigh- 
borhood. As he passed under the kitchen window, he 
saw something bright and shiny, lying in the grass. 
He picked it up, and found it was a beautiful silver 
spoon. He had never had any silver in his hand be- 
fore. He thought, for a moment, what nice things he 
might buy with it. But when he remembered the 
eighth commandment — " Thou shalt not steal" — he hid 
it away in the sleeve of his coat. Then he went into 
the kitchen of Mr. Graham's house and delivered his 
message. After this he asked to see Mrs. Graham. 

He was taken into the parlor, where Mrs. Graham 
was with some company. When she saw him, she was 
astonished, and said: "Well, my boy, and what do 
you want to-day?" 

Billy went up to her, and taking the spoon out of his 
sleeve, put it in her hands, saying very slowly as he did 
so : "Thou shalt not steal." 

Mrs. Graham and her friends were greatly surprised. 

"And pray where did you find the spoon, my little 
man ?" asked Mrs. G. 

After a pause, he said: "Under the kitchen win- 
dow — Billy found it. 'Thou shalt not steal.' " 



264 BIBLE MODELS. 

Then the lady thanked him, and gave him half a 
dollar as a reward for his honesty. When Mr. Graham 
heard of it, he was so much interested in little Billy, 
that he had him placed in an institution for the feeble- 
minded, where he was well taken care of, and 
educated. 

Here we see how this boy found strength from the 
word of God to help him do what was right. 

Here is another story, showing — 

How a Student Resisted Temptation. The members 
of the Junior class, in one of our colleges, had met in 
a student's room, to spend the night in drinking and 
rioting. Among them was one who had been very 
successful in his recitations. He was at the head of 
his class. But the day before, for the first time since 
entering college, he had failed in his lesson. This 
made him feel gloomy and sad. All the other students 
were merry and joyful. One of his classmates said to 
him: "Come, Bob; drink some of this wine. It'll 
make you feel better." 

Just then the tempter whispered in his ear : " Drink 
once, and forget the past." A great struggle was 
going on in his mind. " Shall I drink — or shall I 
not?" he said to himself. He was stretching out his 
hand, to take hold of the glass, when this passage of 
Scripture came into his mind: "Resist the devil, and 
he will flee from you." He paused. He withdrew his 
hand. He shook his head, and left the room. He was 
saved from learning to drink. That young man con- 
tinued a successful student. He graduated at the 
head of his class, and is now the president of a college. 
And all this resulted from the strength he received 



DAVID, THE MODEL USER OF GOD's WORD. 265 

from the word of God, to enable him to resist tempta- 
tion, and to do what was right. 

The fourth use that David made of God's word was 
for strength. 

The fifth use that David made of the word of God 
was for — joy. 

In the 14th verse of this Psalm he says: "I have 
rejoiced in the way of Thy testimonies as in all riches." 
In the 24th verse he says : " Thy testimonies are my 
delight." In the 54th verse he says: " Thy statutes 
have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage." 
And in the i62d verse he says: "I rejoice at Thy 
word as one that findeth great spoil." No stronger 
language could possibly be used, to show what joy 
David found in the use of God's word, than that which 
he here uses. 

And when the apostle Paul declared that he "counted 
all things but loss for the excellence of the knowledge 
of Christ Jesus," he was only telling what joy he found 
in the word of God. And all, who learn truly to un- 
derstand the Bible, find it to be indeed the source of 
their highest joy. 

Here are some good illustrations of the point now 
before us. The first story may be called — 

The Hidden Treasure. A good man visited a house 
in Germany, and found it very wretched. There was 
no fire — no furniture — no food. Everything bore the 
appearance of the greatest poverty. But, looking 
round, he saw, in a neglected corner, a dust-covered 
copy of the Bible. And, as he was going away, he 
said to the members of the family: "There is a treas- 
ure in this house that will make you all rich, if you 



266 BIBLE MODELS. 

find it." As soon as he was gone they began to search 
the house, expecting to find a jewel, or a bag of gold. 
But they found none. Again and again the search 
was renewed; but in vain. 

One day, when tired of searching, the mother of the 
family, lifted up the old Bible and set it on the table. 
She opened the lid of that neglected book ; and there, 
written on the first blank leaf, were these words from 
the Psalms of David : " Thy testimonies are better to me 
than thousands of gold and silver!' "Ah!" she said, 
"I wonder, if this can be the treasure that the stranger 
spoke of?" She told the rest of the family what she 
thought about it, and suggested that they should 
begin, and read the Bible every day. They did so, 
and God blessed the reading of His word to the sal- 
vation of their souls. And a good while after, when 
the stranger visited them again, what a wonderful 
change he saw in that home ! There was plenty, in 
the place of poverty. Peace and contentment were 
seen, where there used to be only misery and murmur 
ing. With grateful joy they said to him: "We have 
found the treasure of which you spoke, and it has 
proved to us all that you said it would be." 

Our next story may be called — 

The Secret of Happiness. An old negro, in Vir- 
ginia, was remarkable for his good sense, and his 
clear knowledge of the Bible. He was always bright 
and cheerful. He seemed to have a fountain of joy 
in his heart that never failed. One day a gentleman 
was on a visit to the owner of this plantation. While 
there he heard a good deal about that cheerful, happy 
negro. He thought he would like to have a talk with 



DAVID, THE MODEL USER OF GOD's WORD. 267 

him, and try to find out what it was that made him 
always seem so merry-hearted. So the next time he 
met him, he said : " Sambo, you always appear to be so 
bright, and joyful, that I cannot understand it. Won't 
you please tell me the secret of your happiness?" 

"Why, Massa," he replied, "when any trouble 
comes on Sambo, he jes' fall right flat on de blessed 
Lord's precious promises, and looks up to Him for 
help ; and it always comes." This was an excellent 
answer. Here is a secret worth knowing. Yes, and 
worth following too. Like David, that old negro was 
using the word of God, for his joy and happiness. 
And seeing that this is the effect which follows from 
the right use of the word of God, we may well take 
up here the sweet lines some one has written about 
it, which read thus : — 

"Thank God for the Bible ! whose clear shining ray 
Has lighted our path, and turned night into day ; 
Its wonderful treasures have never been told, 
More precious than rubies, set round with pure gold. 

" Thank God for the Bible ! in sickness or health, 
It brings richer comforts than honor or wealth ; 
Its blessings are boundless, an infinite store ; 
We may drink at its fountain, and thirst nevermore. 

"Thank God for the Bible ! sent down from above, 
Revealing to mortals God's infinite love ; 
A fathomless sea with its bright shining shore, 
Where the glorified dwell and are safe evermore. 

"Thank God for the Bible! rich treasures untold, 
Are laid up in store in its city of gold, 
That beautiful home of the saved and the blest, 
Where no sorrow can come, where the weary find rest. 



268 BIBLE MODELS. 

"Thank God for the Bible ! how dark is the night 
Where no ray from its pages sheds forth its pure light : 
No Jesus — no Bible — no Heaven of rest — 
Oh, how could we live, were our lives so unblest ? 

"There are millions who wander in darkness to-day, 
No Jesus — no Bible — no knowledge to pray; 
God help us to feel, and to act, in His sight, 
To render our thanks now, by giving them light." 

The fifth use, that David made of the word of God, 
was for — joy. 

The sixth use, that David made of the ivord of God, 
was for — trust. 

In the 42d verse of this Psalm, David says : "I trust 
in thy word." He had tried it, and found he could 
rely upon it, with entire confidence. It had never 
failed or disappointed him. If any body had come to 
him, and tried to shake his trust or confidence in God's 
word, he would have said at once: "It's not worth 
while to talk to me in that way. I know that God's 
word is true, and I trust it with my whole heart, be- 
cause I have tried it, in troubles and difficulties of all 
kinds, and it has always proved true." 

Suppose we should meet a sailor, who has just re- 
turned from a long voyage. He is on his way from 
the ship to his home, and under his arm, in a little 
square box, he is carrying the compass, by which he 
has found his way across the sea. He tells us how he 
prizes that compass, and how great his confidence in 
it is. And suppose we begin to talk with him, and try 
to shake his faith in that compass. We point to it 
laughingly, and say : " How foolish it is to think so 
much of such a little thing as that! Just look at that 



2 7<3 BIBLE MODELS. 

needle, and see how it trembles and shakes ! Of what 
use can that little needle be? Why not throw that 
compass away, and find something else to trust to, 
when you go to sea?" 

He would say to us in reply : " Well, you can laugh 
at me as much as you please. But I know what I am 
about. Experience has taught me the worth of this 
compass. I have sailed round the world, trusting to 
it for guidance, and it has never disappointed me. In 
storm and in calm, — by day and by night, — in summer 
and in winter, it has led me in the right way, and 
brought me safe home. And so nothing that any one 
may say, can, for a moment, shake my trust in this 
compass." And this is just what every true Christian 
is ready to say about the word of God : 

"Yes, yes, this blessed book is worth 
All else to mortals given ; 
For what are all the joys of earth 
Compared to those of heaven ? 
This is the guide our Father gave 

To lead to realms of day — 
A star whose lustre gilds the grave — 
' The light, the life, the way.' " 

The Bible is not only our compass, but our anchor 
too. Here is an illustration of what I mean. We 
may call it — 

An Anchor to the Soul. In a gale off the coast of 
England, a vessel was being driven ashore. Her 
anchors were gone, and she no longer obeyed the 
helm. A few moments more, and she would be dashed 
against the rocks. In the midst of the terror and 
confusion that prevailed, there was one man who re- 



DAVID, THE MODEL USER OF GODS WORD. 2j I 

mained perfectly calm. He saw that the wreck was 
inevitable. He believed that death was near, and was 
quietly waiting for its approach. 

A friend came up to him and asked : " How can 
you possibly be so calm, in the midst of this great 
danger? Don't you know that the anchor is gone, 
and that we are drifting on the rocks ?" 

"Yes, I know it," was his calm reply "but then you 
see, I have an anchor to my soul ; and whatever hap- 
pens to the ship, my best interests are all safe." That 
is the way in which we ought to trust God's word. 

Some people find their trust in God's word and the 
comfort which that trust would give, very much dis- 
turbed by the things in the Bible which they cannot 
understand. Here is an illustration of this part of our 
subject. We may call it — 

A Lesson from a Cow. The deacon of a church in 
New England, called on his pastor one day, to have a 
talk with him about the Bible. 

In the course of their conversation the deacon said : 
"You see, Parson, as I am reading my Bible, I find 
many things in it that I can't understand. I stop and 
think about them. But the more I think about them, 
the harder they seem. And then, instead of finding 
strength and comfort from the Bible, I go away in 
weakness and trouble. Now, what am I to do?" 

" Come with me to the barn, deacon," said the min- 
ister, " and I'll show you what to do." 

When they reached the barn, the minister pointed 
to a cow, that was quietly standing in the stall and 
eating hay. "There," said he, "is my cow Dulcy. 
Just watch her a moment, and she will teach you a 



$72 BIBLE MODELS. 

lesson in theology. There, see, she has just found a 
piece of wood in the hay. And what does she do ? 
Does she stop, and try to chew the wood ? No ; but 
she just lays it aside, and goes quietly on eating the 
hay. Now she finds a thistle, and now an ugly weed. 
But she does not trouble herself about them. She 
merely thrusts them aside, and goes on eating the 
nice, fresh, juicy hay. Now, deacon," said the min- 
ister, "just follow the example of this cow. When, 
in reading your Bible, you meet with things which you 
can't understand, don't stop and bother yourself 
about them. Treat them as the cow does the weeds 
that she finds in the hay. Put them aside, and go on 
carefully reading the pure, simple truth 'as it is in 
Jesus,' or as St. James calls it — 'the engrafted word 
which is able to save your soul.'" The sixth use that 
David made of God's word was to — trust it ; and we 
must do the same. 

The seventh use that David made of the word of God, 
and the last of which we shall now speak, was for — 

PEACE. 

In the 165th verse of this Psalm, David says: "Great 
peace have they that love thy law." And when he 
said this, he was speaking from his own experience. 
He says in our text: "O how I love thy law !" And 
he found peace in loving that law. And if we love 
God's law, as David did, we also shall find peace in 
it. When we know and love God's law, it will lead 
us to Jesus. He is the Prince of peace. He made 
peace through the blood of his cross, and He gives 
peace to all His people. And when this peace is 
given, it always comes through the knowledge of 



DAVID, THE MODEL USER OF GODS WORD. 273 

His word. Here is an illustration of this in a little 
story which we may call — 

The Watchword. In one ot the great rock gal- 
leries of the fortress of Gibraltar, two British soldiers, 
were acting as midnight guards, or sentinels, at each 
end of a long tunnel in the fortress. One of them 
was a happy Christian, rejoicing in the peace which 
he had found in Jesus. The other was distressed with 
the burden of his sins. He had long felt the need of 
a Saviour ; but he had never come to Jesus, and was 
a stranger to peace. 

In the silence of the night, these soldiers were going 
their rounds. One of them was meditating on the 
atoning blood of Christ, which had brought peace to 
his soul. The other was groaning under the burden 
of sins, and longing to get rid of that burden. Sud- 
denly an officer came in sight. In passing the former 
of these sentinels, he paused, and asked for the watch- 
word. The startled soldier, forgetting for the moment 
what the watchword was, and thinking only of the 
peace that filled his soul, and of the source from which 
it sprung, exclaimed : " The precious blood of Christ!" 
But, correcting himself at once, he gave the true 
watchword, and the officer passed on, greatly wonder- 
ing, no doubt, at the soldier's first utterance. But 
the words he spoke, had rung out distinctly through 
the gallery. They entered the ears of the other sol- 
dier, like a message from above. It seemed as if an 
angel from heaven had spoken to him. "The precious 
blood of Christ !" He felt that this was what he 
needed. In penitence and faith he turned to Jesus, 
while treading his lonely round. His burden rolled 



2 74 BIBLE MODELS. 

off at the foot of the cross, and his soul found rest. 
Peace in believing, was his happy experience from that 
hour. 

I have only one other story to tell about this peace. 
Here we see how the peace which Jesus gives, can 
comfort his people under the most trying circumstances. 
We may call it — 

The Dying Soldier. During one of the battles of 
the Crimean war, an English officer saw a soldier lying 
on the ground, and weltering in his blood. Going up 
to him, he said in a kind way : " Can I do anything for 
you, my friend ?" 

"There is one thing for which I would be much 
obliged," said the dying man. "In my knapsack you 
will find a New Testament. Please open it at the 
14th chapter of St. John. Near the end of the chapter 
you will find a verse beginning with the word 'peace.' 
Be kind enough to read it to me." 

The officer found the place, and read these sweet 
words : "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto 
you : not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let 
not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." 
John xiv : 27. 

"Thank you, sir," said the dying man. "I have 
that peace — I am going to that Saviour — God is with 
me — I want no more," and with these words upon 
his lips, he died. 

We have spoken now, of seven ways in which David 
made use of the word of God, viz. : for meditation ; 
for light; for cleansing; for strength; for joy ; for 
trust, and for peace. Let us all try to follow David's 
example here, and then we shall be making the best 




JESUS RAISES LAZARUS PROM THE TOMB. 



276 BIBLE MODELS. 

use of the Bible. And we shall feel the truth of one 
who asks : 

What is the Bible Like? And who answers the 
question in this way : 

"It is like a large, beautiful tree, which bears sweet 
fruit for those that hunger, and affords shelter and 
shade for pilgrims on their way to the kingdom of 
heaven. 

"It is like a casket of jewels and precious stones, 
which are not only to be looked at, and admired, but 
used and worn. 

"It is like a telescope, which brings very near the 
far-off things of the unseen world, so that we can see 
something of their beauty and importance. 

"It is like a treasure-house, full of all sorts of useful 
and valuable things, which can be had without money 
and without price. 

"It is like a deep, broad, calm-flowing river, the 
banks of which are green and flowery, where birds 
sing, and lambs play, and dear little children are 
loving and happy." 

I would conclude what I have to say on this subject, 
by quoting some sweet lines which contain the sub- 
stance of all I have been trying to say about 

THE BIBLE. 

" My Book ! my Book . my grand old Book ! by inspiration given ! 
Thy ev'ry page from age to age, reveals the path to heav'n; 
My Lamp of Light ! in nature's night thy unbeclouded ray 
Has turned the gloom of death's cold tomb to everlasting day. 

"My Chart! my Chart! my changeless Chart! by thee I guide my 
bark, 
A simple child on ocean wild, o'er mountain billows dark ; 



DAVID, THE MODEL USER OF GODS WORD. 277 

By thee I steer my safe career, with canvas all unfurl'd, 
And onward sail before the gale, to yonder blissful world. 

; My Staff ! my Staff ! my trusty Staff ! I'll grasp thee in my hand, 
As faint and weak on Pisgah's peak, I view the promised land; 
Not sadly told, as one of old, to see — but to explore, 
My hold I'll keep through Jordan's deep till safe on Canaan's 
shore. 

- My Sword ! my Sword ! my two-edged Sword ! by thy unerring 

might, 
I deal my foe the deadly blow, in faith's unequal fight ; 
Thy tempered blade, that lent me aid in every conflict past, 
Shall make me more than conqueror, through Him who loved, 

at last. 

My Book! my Chart ! my Staff! my Sword! heav'n speed thee 

on thy way, 
From pole to pole, as ages roll, the harbinger of day, 
Till Christ 'the Light,' shall banish night from — 'this terrestrial 

ball/ 
And earth shall see her Jubilee, and God be all in all." 



NOTE. 



Some persons may be ready to say : " Well, and 
what good did David's use of the Bible do to him ? 
Notwithstanding all he says about it, he yet fell under 
the power of the great sin that marred his life." 

I admit the truth of this statement, and desire to 
meet it honestly and fairly. 

And the best way of doing this, that I know of, is 
to affirm, what none can deny, that God often allows 
evil to take place, and then brings good out of it. 



2 78 BIBLE MODELS. 

We have an illustration of this, in God's dealing with 
our world. He allowed sin to enter it. Without His 
permission, it never could have entered. But the 
entrance of sin led to the plan of salvation through 
Jesus Christ. This, in the end will bring more glory 
to God, and more happiness to the world, and to the 
universe, than ever could have been secured, in any 
other way. 

And we see that it is often so with His people in 
this world, when He allows them to fall into sin. He 
overrules it for good. He did this in David's case. 
It is easy to see three good results, that have been 
brought out from David's sin. 

One of these is the proof thus afforded, that human 
nature is the same in all ages. If the good men, whose 
histories are given in the Bible, such as Noah, and 
Abraham, and Moses, and David and Peter, had not 
fallen into great sins, we should have been tempted 
to say, that their nature must have differed from ours ; 
and this thought would have been a great discourage- 
ment to us, in our struggles against sin. But, when 
we read of their great failures, we feel sure, that, in 
themselves, they were no better than we are. Each 
of them, was a stone, taken from the same quarry of 
corruption, in which we ourselves were found origin- 
ally. And then, the thought, that, at least they gained 
the victory over this fallen nature, encourages us to 
hope for the same blessed result in the end. 

Another good thing that resulted from David's sin, 
is seen in — the illustration it affords of the power of 
the grace of God. 

By the sin which David committed, he fell to the 




NATHAN TELLS DAVID HE SHALL BE PUNISHED FOR HIS SIN. 



28o BIBLE MODELS. 

lowest depths, in the great pit of human transgression. 
Yet the grace of God was a chain, long enough to 
reach him there ; and strong enough to lift him out 
from that horrible pit. He was led to repentance, 
and restored to God's favor. He was cleansed from 
his sin, and saved. There could not be a more 
striking illustration, of the power of the grace of 
God, than David's case affords. And what that grace 
did for him, it is able to do for any of God's children. 
It has been an unspeakable blessing to the church, in 
all ages, to have had such an illustration of the power 
of God's grace. 

And then another good thing resulting from David's 
sin, is — the help it has afforded to penitents. If David 
had not fallen into his great sin, he never could have 
written the 51st Psalm. That is the Psalm in which 
he confesses his sin, and pleads for pardon. And per- 
sons repenting of their sins, in every age, have made 
use of this Psalm, and have found the greatest help 
and comfort in using it. No language can tell what a 
blessing this Psalm has been, to untold multitudes of 
people, through all the centuries that have passed 
away, from the days of David to the present time. 
And when we put all these things together, we cannot 
but wonder at the marvellous way in which God brings 
good out of evil. 

It does not lessen the evil of our sins when God 
makes them work for good in His own wise and won- 
derful way. And if any should say that, in speaking 
thus, we are encouraging men to go on in sin, it is 
only necessary to look at David's life, after he com- 
mitted his great sin, to see the error of such a state- 



DAVID, THE MODEL USER OF GODS WORD. 261 

ment. When the prophet Nathan came to David, to 
reprove him for his sin, he said: "Because by this 
deed thou hast given great occasion for the enemies 
of the Lord to blaspheme, the sword shall never de- 
part from thine house." And so it came to pass. He 
had nothing but sorrow and trouble, in his family, and 
in his kingdom, from that time, till the day of his death. 
And it was all the sad result of his sin. And as these 
things were taking place, one after another, how often 
David must have been compelled to shed bitter tears, 
over that sin, from which they all sprung ! They must 
have made him feel — deep down to the very depths 
of his soul, how true it is : " That, the way of the 
transgressor — is hard." 




JONATHAN, THE MODEL FRIEND. 



Jonathan — thy love to me was wonderful." — 2 Samuel 
i: 26. 




-^HESE words David used, in the lamenta- 
tion which he wrote, when he heard of 
the death of his friend, Jonathan. We 
seldom hear anything said about Jona- 
than. And this is surprising, when we 
remember what a remarkable man he was. He was 
a remarkable soldier. His courage was very great. 
We have a striking illustration of this in the 14th 
chapter of the first book of Samuel. At that time 
the Philistines had p;ained great victories over the 
Israelites. They had put garrisons of soldiers all 
through the land of Israel. They had taken away from 
the Israelites their swords and spears, and would not 
let any blacksmiths remain among, them, for fear they 
would make swords for them to fight with. When 
things were in this sad state, Jonathan made up his 
mind one day, that he would try his hand with their 
enemies, and see if he could not get a victory over 
them. 



282 



He told his armor-bearer what he was pfoinp- 




JONATHAN AND HIS ARMOR-BEARER ATTACK THE PHILISTINES. 



284 BIBLE MODELS. 

to do, and asked him to go with him, and help him. 
He agreed to do so, and they two went out by them- 
selves, and made an attack on one of the garrisons 
of the Philistines. Their enemies were afraid of them, 
and ran away. Jonathan and his companion went 
after them, and killed a number of the Philistines. 
Then the Israelites heard of it, and great numbers of 
them came, and joined Jonathan and his companion. 
They attacked the other Philistine garrisons. The 
Lord sent an earthquake at that time. This frightened 
the Philistines. They all ran away ; and the end of 
it was, they were defeated and driven back into their 
own country, and a glorious victory was gained by the 
Israelites. And all this was owing to the courage of 
Jonathan, when he made his bold attack on the Phil- 
istines that day, with none but his armor-bearer to 
help him. 

And then, in addition to being so brave a soldier, 
he was an uncommonly good son. We might speak 
of him as the model son, and there is a great deal in 
his history that could be brought out to illustrate this 
view of his character. But the most interestino- thing, 
in the life of Jonathan, is the friendship that existed 
between him and David. And so, I wish to speak 
of Jonathan as — The Model Friend. And there are 
three points about this model, that well deserve our 
attention. 

In the first place, Jonathan was the model of a — 
loving — friend. 

A friend is good for nothing unless he really loves 
us. And the better he loves us, the more his friend- 
ship is worth. 



JONATHAN, THE MODEL FRIEND. 285 

But Jonathan's friendship for David had this quality 
in it, to a remarkable degree. The first time that he 
ever saw him, was on that memorable day when David 
went forth alone to fight the great giant Goliath. Day 
after day, that giant had stalked forth from the army 
of the Philistines, and had challenged any soldier from 
Saul's army to come out and fight him. But no one 
dared to go. They were all afraid of him. Even 
Jonathan, brave soldier as he was, was not willing to 
engage in a single-handed fight with that huge mon- 
ster. But at last David came, a mere shepherd boy, 
without sword, or shield, or armor, and with nothing 
in his hand but his sling, he went out alone to fight 
that mighty giant, all covered as he was with his 
shining armor of steel and brass. We can easily 
imagine the scene that presented itself between those 
two armies. See, yonder comes forth the enormous 
giant. The ground shakes beneath his heavy tread. 
All the soldiers, in both armies, are watching that 
sight. And no one is looking at it with greater in- 
terest than Jonathan. And as he saw that stripling 
boy go forth to such a fight, he must have wondered 
to himself, how it could be possible for him to get the 
victory over that prodigious enemy ! And when he 
saw David put the stone in his sling, and run to meet 
the giant, how he must have trembled for him ! But 
the next moment, that stone is hurled against the 
giant. It smites him in the forehead. He stumbles, 
and falls thundering to the ground. David runs up, 
and stands upon his huge body. He draws the giant's 
sword, and cuts off his head with it. And now we can 
imagine what a loud ''hurrah" — rang forth from the 



286 BIBLE MODELS. 

soldiers of Saul's army, before they started to chase 
the flying Philistines. And then Jonathan fell in love 
with David. It was love at first sight. But it was 
real, true, heart-felt love. We read that Jonathan 
loved David "as his own soul." He sought him out, 
after the battle was over, and told him that he wanted 
to be his friend, from that day. And then they made 
a covenant, or agreement with each other, to be true, 
and loving friends, forever. And as proof of his 
friendship and love, Jonathan gave to David the robe 
that he was wearing, and his sword, and his bow, and 
his girdle. And then, through all the years of David's 
trouble, while Saul was persecuting him, and trying 
to kill him, Jonathan showed himself his loving friend. 
And when at last Jonathan was killed in battle, David 
mourned for him, and wrote a most beautiful and 
touching lamentation over him. In this, the words of 
our text are found, in which he says: "I am distressed 
for thee, my brother Jonathan ; very pleasant hast 
thou been to me ; thy love to me was wonderful, pass- 
ing the love of women." 

And thus we see how truly Jonathan was the model 
of a loving friend. We should follow the example 
that Jonathan has set us, and try to show the same 
sort of love to our friends. 

Let us look at some illustrations of what loving 
friends will be, and do. 

A Loving Friend. Colonel Byrd of Virginia, fell 
into the hands of the Cherokee Indians, when our 
Government was at war with them. He was con- 
demned to death, and was led out to execution. One 
of the chiefs in that tribe, had been the Colonel's 




DAVID OVERCOMES GOLIATH AND CUTS OFF HIS HEAD 



2 88 BIBLE MODELS. 

friend. As the executioners approached to put the 
Colonel to death, this chief came out, and standing 
before him, said: "This man is my friend. Before 
you can get at him, you must kill me." This saved 
his life. 

A Little Hero. A boy in a town in Germany, was 
playing one day with his sister, when the cry was 
heard — "A mad dog! a mad dog!" The boy saw 
the dog coming directly towards him ; but instead of 
running away, he took off his coat, and wrapping it 
round his arm, boldly faced the dog, holding out his 
arm covered with the coat. The dog flew at his arm, 
worrying over it, and trying to bite through it, till men 
came up, and killed him. 

"Why didn't you run away from the dog, my little 
man?" asked one of the men. 

"I could easily have done that," said the brave boy, 
"but if I had, the dog would have bitten my sister." 

He was truly a loving friend and brother. 

Damon and Pythias. There is a well-known story 
of two men, who lived about four hundred years be 
fore the birth of Christ, that comes in very nicely here. 
Their names were Damon and Pythias. They were 
educated men, and what were called — philosophers — 
in those days, and were very warm friends. Some 
one accused Damon to Dionysius, the king of the 
country, of doing something that made him very 
angry. Kings, in those days, had the power of life 
and death in their own hands' So Dionysius ordered 
Damon to be put to death. Before this sentence was 
executed, Damon begged to be allowed to go home, 
and arrange the affairs of his family. The king said 



JONATHAN, THE MODEL FRIEND. 289 

he might go, if he could get some one to take his 
place in prison, and to die for him, if he did not come 
back by the time fixed for the execution. 

As soon as his friend Pythias heard of this, he came 
and offered to take his place. He was put in prison, 
and Damon went to visit his family. The day fixed 
for the execution arrived, and Damon had not re- 
turned. He had to cross the sea, to get back, and 
the wind had been ahead for several days. A plat- 
form had been erected, on which the execution was 
to take place, and the king sat by, on a sort of throne. 
Pythias was brought out for execution. He asked 
permission to say a few words to the crowd of spec- 
tators. Permission was granted. 

"My countrymen," said he, "this is a happy day to 
me. I am not only willing, but glad to die in the place 
of my friend Damon. I am thankful that the wind 
has kept him back. He will be here to-morrow. And 
it will be found that he has done nothing wrong. He 
is an honest, upright, honorable man, and I am glad 
of the opportunity to shed my blood in order to save 
his life. Executioner, do your duty." 

Just as he had finished speaking, a voice was heard 
in the distance crying — "Stop the execution!" The 
crowd around the scaffold, took up the cry, and ex- 
claimed, in a voice of thunder — "Stop the execution!" 
The execution was stopped. Presently, panting, and 
out of breath, Damon appeared. He mounted the 
scaffold. He embraced his friend Pythias ; and said 
how happy he was that a change of wind had allowed 
him to get there just in time to save his life. "And 
now," said he, "I am ready to die." 



29O BIBLE MODELS. 

"If I may not die for you," said Pythias, "I ask 
the king to let me die with you ; for I have no wish 
to live any longer in this world, when my friend 
Damon, whom I have loved so truly, is taken out 
of it." 

This touched the king so much that he pardoned 
Damon, and became the warm friend of those two 
noble men. 

The Little Substitute. I have one other story to 
illustrate this part of our subject. A teacher in a 
day-school had to punish one of his scholars, for 
breaking the rule of the school. The punishment was 
that the offending boy should stand, for a quarter of 
an hour, in a corner of the school-room. 

As the guilty boy was going to the appointed place, 
a little fellow, much younger than he, went up to the 
teacher, and requested that he might be allowed to 
take the place of the other boy. The teacher con- 
sented. The little boy went, and bore the punish- 
ment due to the other boy. 

When the quarter of an hour was passed, the 
teacher called the little boy to him, and asked if his 
companion had begged him to take his place. " No, 
sir," he replied. 

"Well, don't you think that he deserved to be 
punished ?" 

"Yes, sir; he had broken the rule of the school, and 
he deserved to be punished." 

"Why, then, did you want to bear the punishment 
in his place?" 

"Sir, it was because he is my friend and I love 
him." 



JONATHAN, THE MODEL FRIEND. 29 1 

The teacher thought this was a good opportunity 
for teaching his scholars an important lesson. 

"Boys," said he, "would it be right for me now, to 
punish that boy who has broken the rule of the 
school?" 

"No, sir," answered the boys. 

"Why not?" 

" Because you have allowed his friend Joseph to be 
punished in his place." 

"Does this remind you of anything?" asked the 
teacher. 

"Yes, sir," said several voices; "it reminds us, that 
the Lord Jesus bore the punishment of our sins." 

" What name would you give to Joseph for what he 
has now done?" 

"That of a substitute." 

" What is a substitute ?" 

" One who takes the place of another." 

" What place has Jesus taken ?" 

"That of sinners." 

"Joseph has told us that he wished to take his 
friend's place, and be punished instead of him, because 
he loved him. Can you tell me why Jesus wished to 
die in the place of sinners?" 

"It was because he loves us." 

"Repeat a passage from the Bible which proves 
this." 

"'The Son of God, who loved me, and gave him- 
self for me.' " Gal. ii : 20. 

Jonathan was the model of a loving friend. But 
Jesus is the most loving of all friends. We may well 
look up to Him, and say, in the language of the hymn : 



292 BIBLE MODELS. 

"One there is, above all others, 

Well deserves the name of Friend; 
His is love beyond a brother's, 
Lasting, true, and knows no end." 

In the second place, Jonathan was the model of- — a 
generous— friend. 

Jonathan was the oldest son of Saul, the king of 
Israel. He was what men call, " the heir apparent," 
of the throne of Israel. This means that he was the 
one to be made king, when his father should die. Jona- 
than knew this. He fully expected to be king, on the 
death of his father. And all the people of Israel ex- 
pected it too. But God had determined to take the 
kingdom away from Saul, and his family, because of 
his disobedience. The prophet Samuel had been sent 
by God, to anoint David to be king of Israel, instead 
of Saul. When Saul heard of this, he was very angry, 
and tried in every way to kill David. 

But it was very different with Jonathan. When he 
found out that it was the will of God, that his friend 
David should take his crown, and throne, and be king 
instead of him, he was not at all angry. He made no 
objection to it. He never thought of quarreling with 
David about it. He knew that it was right for God 
to do just what He pleased ; and he submitted, at 
once, to the will of God, although it took the crown 
of Israel away from him. He said to David, when 
they were talking about this matter : " Thou shalt be 
king over Israel; and I will be next to thee." i Sam. 
xxiii:i7. Noble Jonathan! Generous Jonathan! It 
does our hearts good, and helps to make us better, 
just to think of such friendship ! Another example of 




L i il 



SAMUEL TELLS SAUL HIS KINGDOM SHALL BE TAKEN FROM HIM. 



294 BIBLE MODELS. 

generous friendship like this, is not to be found, any- 
where, in the history of the world. How well we 
may speak of Jonathan, as the model of generous 
friendship ! 

And now let us look at some other illustrations of 
this same kind of friendship. Our first story may be 
called — 

Willie Winkle s Sacrifice. Willie was a bright little 
fellow, about ten years old. His father had a Scotch- 
man named Sandy, who worked about the place, and 
attended on Willie, when he had nothing else to do. 

" Oh, Sandy !" said Willie to him, one day, " I'm so 
happy, I don't know what to do. Papa has promised 
me a new riding-horse. It's to be just the nicest I 
can find in all the town, with the longest mane and 
tail, and a beautiful saddle and bridle. Mamma is 
going to take me down town this afternoon to pick it 
out." 

Then Willie stopped, and looked at Sandy, and no- 
ticed that his face seemed sad. Then he said : 

"What makes you look so sad, Sandy? Aren't you 
pleased about my pony?" 

" Oh, yes, Master Willie, I'm always pleased with 
anything that pleases you. But I can't help feeling 
sad when I think of my own little Jamie. He can't 
walk a step, because his legs are so badly crippled." 

"Please tell me all about it, Sandy ; I'm so sorry." 

"It's going on two years since the big wagon ran 
over him, as he was crossing the street ; and he has 
never put a foot on the ground since. Yesterday he 
was worse, and the doctor said he never would live 
through the hot weather, unless we could give him a 



JONATHAN, THE MODEL FRIEND. 295 

good bit of fresh air every day. I made bold to ask 
him how we could do this, when he couldn't walk, and 
was too big to be carried. He said if we could only 
get one of those wheeled wagons, which they make for 
such as he, with nice soft cushions in them, he could 
work it with his hands, for they are all right, though 
his legs are so bad. But bless you, those wagons cost 
a heap o' money ; and I'll never be able to buy one. 
So you see, I'm like to lose my laddie, and he's the 
only one I've got." And then Sandy had a good cry. 
This set Willie to crying too, for poor Sandy's suffer- 
ing boy. He went straight to his mother, and told the 
sad story. Then he said : 

" Mamma, dear, can't we help poor Jamie ?" 

"I don't see how we can, Willie. The doctor says 
Jamie can't live through the warm weather, unless he 
can be taken out in the open air every day, for a good 
long while." 

"Couldn't papa buy one of those little wagons for 
him?" 

" No, dear, he couldn't indeed. He can hardly 
afford the expense of your new pony. But he said 
you had been such a good boy, and had waited pa- 
tiently so long for it, that he would try and get it for 
you." 

Willie was silent. Then he went up to his room for 
awhile. When he came back his mother saw that he 
had been crying; but with a determined look, he said, 
quietly : 

" Mamma, I'm not going to have any new pony 
at all." 

"Why not, my boy?" 



296 BIBLE MODELS. 

"If I don't get one, perhaps papa will take the 
money and buy a wagon for poor Jamie, that will help 
to save his life. Do you think he will ?" 

"My precious, darling boy! I know your father 
will be delighted to do it." 

When his father came home they talked the matter 
over. Willie and his mother went and bought the 
wagon, and took it round to Sandy's house. 

With the tears streaming down his cheeks, Sandy 
said : "I'll never forget it of ye, Master Willie — never, 
never !" 

So Willie went without his new horse. But the 
wagon which was bought with the money, saved poor 
Jamie's life ; and that made Willie happier than a 
dozen riding-horses could have done. 

The Confederate Soldier. In one of the battles in 
Virginia, during the late war, a Union officer fell, 
severely wounded, in front of the Confederate breast- 
works. He lay there crying piteously for water. A 
noble-hearted Confederate soldier heard his cry, and 
resolved to relieve him. He filled his canteen with 
water, and though the bullets were flying across the 
field, and he could only go at the risk of his life, yet 
he went. He gave the suffering officer the drink he 
so greatly needed. This touched his heart so much, 
that he instantly took out his gold watch, and offered it 
to his generous foe. But the noble fellow refused to 
take it. 

"Then give me your name and residence," said the 
officer. 

"My name," said the soldier, " is James Moore, of 
Burke County, North Carolina." 



JONATHAN, THE MODEL FRIEND. 297 

Then they parted. That soldier was subsequently 
wounded, and lost a limb. In due time the war was 
over, and that wounded officer went back to his busi- 
ness, as a merchant in New York. And not long after, 
that Confederate soldier received a letter from the 
officer, to whom he had given the " cup of cold 
water," telling him that he had settled on him $10,000, 
to be paid in four annual instalments of $2500 each. 
$10,000 for a drink of water ! That was noble on the 
part of the Union officer. But to give that drink of 
water at the risk of his own life, was still more noble 
on the part of that brave soldier. I never think of it, 
without feeling inclined to take off my cap and give 
a rousing — "Hurrah!" — for that noble Confederate 
soldier. 

The Noble Engineer. Two freight trains, on the 
Philadelphia and Erie Railroad, came into collision. 
Christian Dean was the engineer of one of those 
trains. Both he and his fireman were fastened down 
beneath the wreck of the locomotive. Dean was held 
by one of his legs, close by the fire of the engine. 
His fireman was nearly buried under the pieces of the 
wreck. When they were discovered, Dean had man- 
aged to reach his tool-box, and was making every 
effort to get the fireman out. When he saw the men 
who had come to help them, Dean said to them: "Help 
poor Jim ! Never mind me." The fireman was taken 
out, as soon as possible ; but he was unconscious. 
Then Dean was taken out. And it was found that 
during all the time he had been working to relieve his 
friend, the fireman, the fire was burning his own leg 
to a crisp. It was literally roasted, from his knee 



290 BIBLE MODELS. 

down, and had afterwards to be cut off. And yet the 
noble fellow, unmindful of his own sufferings, was 
only thinking about his companion, and trying to re- 
lieve him. This was a generous friend indeed ! 

I have only one other story on this point of our 
subject. We may call it — 

The Spirit of Christ. Thomas Samson was a miner, 
and he worked very hard every day for a living. The 
overseer of the mine said to him, one day: "Thomas, 
I've got an easier berth for you, where there is not so 
much work to do, and where you can get better wages. 
Will you accept it?" Most men would have jumped 
at such an offer, and would have taken it in a moment. 
But what did this noble fellow do ? He said to the 
overseer: "Captain, there's our poor brother Tregony : 
he has a sickly body, and is not able to work as hard 
as I can. I am afraid his work will shorten his life, 
and then what will his poor family do? Won't you let 
him have this easier berth ? I can go on working as 
I have done." The overseer was wonderfully pleased 
with Samson's generous spirit. He sent for Tregony, 
and gave the easy berth to him. How noble that was ! 
It was indeed the very spirit of Christ. Now, all the 
four stories we have here, show the same generous 
spirit that Jonathan had in his friendship with David. 
He was the model of a generous friend. 

There is one other point for us to notice, in Jona- 
than, and that is that he was the model of a — faithful 
— -friend. 

Jonathan and David lived in very trying times. It 
was a time of war ; and they were surrounded by 
many and great difficulties and dangers. But, in the 




JONATHAN PROMISES TO BE DAVID'S FRIEND. 



300 BIBLE MODELS. 

midst of all those trials, Jonathan's friendship for David 
never failed, and never faltered. He went to meet 
him whenever he could, in the woods, or on the 
mountains. He did, and said everything in his power, 
to help and comfort him. And, until the day of his 
death, he remained unchanged, — the faithful friend of 
David. And we should try to imitate the example of 
Jonathan in this respect. Let us aim to be faithful 
friends to those we love. 

We have many beautiful illustrations of faithful 
friendship, which it is very pleasant to think of. 

We find examples of faithful friendship among 
animals, that are well worthy our imitation. I have 
one story about a horse, and one about a dog, that 
come in very well under this head of our subject. 

The A7"ab and his Horse. The Arabs, you know, 
have some of the finest horses in the world. They 
treat them very kindly. They are very fond of their 
horses ; and the horses get very much attached to 
their masters. An Arab chief, whose name was Abon- 
el-Marah, had a remarkably fine horse. He was greatly 
attached to this animal, and treated it almost like one 
of his family. Once, while engaged in battle, this 
chief was wounded and taken prisoner, together with 
his horse. 

On the evening of the first day after the battle, the 
chief had his limbs bound by a leather strap, and was 
left to sleep on the grass, outside of the tents in which 
the Turks were sleeping, who had taken him prisoner. 
The pain of his wound kept him awake during the 
night. A large number of horses had been fastened 
by ropes, not far from where he lay. He heard them 



JONATHAN, THE MODEL FRIEND. 30I 

neighing and snorting. And, among the rest, he heard, 
and recognized, the neighing of his own horse. Then 
he wanted very much, to go and speak once more to 
the horse that had been so long a faithful friend to 
him. 

His limbs were so bound, that it was impossible for 
him to walk. But by dragging himself painfully along, 
on his hands and knees, he managed at last, to reach 
the horse. He spoke to him kindly, as he would have 
done to a friend. "I am to be a slave," said he, "but 
you shall be free ; and I hope you will soon get home 
to the tents you know so well." Then he gnawed, 
with his teeth, the cord of goat-hair that held him fast. 
Soon the beautiful animal was free. "Now go," said 
his master. But seeing his beloved owner, wounded, 
and bound, as he lay on the ground, he bowed his 
head and smelt of his master. Then he grasped, with 
his teeth, the leather girdle which bound him. Hold- 
ing it firmly in his mouth, he started for home, carrying 
his master with him. He galloped away, and never 
paused, or stopped to rest, but went on, and on, mile 
after mile, till he brought the Arab chief back to his 
own tents. When he had arrived there, he gently 
laid his master on the sand, in the presence of 
his wife and children, and then the noble horse fell 
down, and died from the great exertion he had made. 
That was a beautiful illustration of faithful friendship. 

And now for the story of — 

The Faithful Dog. This story is connected with 
the history of the celebrated city of Pompeii, which 
was overwhelmed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, 
in the first century of the Christian era. A rich citizen 



302 BIBLE MODELS. 

of Pompeii had a noble dog, whose name was Delta. 
He had saved his master's life three times. The first 
time was when he was nearly drowned in the sea. The 
dog- plunged in after him, caught hold of him, and 
brought him safe to land. The second time was when 
he was attacked by robbers. He sprang upon the 
robbers, and drove them off from his master. The 
third time, was when a fierce she-wolf attacked his 
master, in a grove near the city of Herculaneum. He 
had nothing with which to defend himself. But the 
brave dog nobly fought the wolf off, and saved his 
master from being torn to pieces. After this, the 
master of this noble animal died. Then the dog 
attached himself to his son, who was but a boy. When 
the fatal day of that eruption came, and the fiery storm 
began to come down on Pompeii, this faithful dog 
stretched himself over the body of his young master, 
to try and protect him from the burning ashes which 
were falling fast around. The dog died ; and his 
young master died. But seventeen hundred years 
after, when the ruins of Pompeii were uncovered, the 
skeleton of that faithful dog was found, stretched over 
the skeleton of his master. There was a collar round 
the neck of the dog, on which was found inscribed his 
name — Delta, and the three incidents above described. 
What a noble illustration of a faithful friend, we have 
in the history of that dog ! 

The Faithful Comrade. Some time ago, a very fine 
church was built in a market-town of Belgium. It 
took a long time to build it. But at last it was nearly 
finished. Only one thing remained to be done, and 
this was to have the weather-vane fastened to the top 



JONATHAN, THE MODEL FRIEND. 3O3 

of the steeple. There was only one way in which 
the thing could be done, and this was for one of the 
workmen to take his stand on the top of the staging, 
and then let another man climb up on his shoulders, 
and stand there while he fastened the weather-vane 
in its place. This was a very dangerous thing to do, 
and yet, it seemed to be the only way in which it could 
be done ! 

When the time came for undertaking this dangerous 
work, a vast crowd of people assembled in the great 
square around the church, and all the windows of the 
houses in the neighborhood, were filled with people 
eager to see how the work was done. 

The two workmen, chosen to manage this dangerous 
matter, were old friends, very much attached to each 
other. They went deliberately up the staging till 
they reached the top. One of them, — a stout, broad- 
shouldered man, placed himself firmly on his feet, 
and took hold of a pole of the staging with one hand. 
Then he stooped down, while the other man climbed 
cautiously up on his shoulders. This man had his 
tools in a bag, that was slung over his shoulders. As 
soon as he was ready, his friend, who was supporting 
him, handed him up the iron weather-vane. This 
was fixed in the place it was to occupy. Then there 
was handed to him the pan of hot coals, with the 
melted lead, by which the vane was to be fastened in 
its place. And so, in that perilous position he 
began to do his work. And while this was going on 
aloft, the crowd below were gazing in silent and 
breathless anxiety. They were afraid that the brave 
fellow might lose his balance, and be dashed to the 



304 BIBLE MODELS. 

earth. Many a heart was lifted up in secret prayer 
that God would protect him. 

It took the brave man a long time to do his work. 
The moments seemed like hours, to the anxious gazing 
crowd. The broad-shouldered man stood in his place, 
as motionless as a rock. And many in that crowd, as 
they watched him, were saying to themselves: "Hold 
on! don't move! or your friend is lost!" But he did 
not move. And the man standing there on his 
shoulders, went quietly and steadily on with his work. 
At last it is done, and he carefully descends from the 
shoulders of his friend. When the crowd saw this, 
many of them exclaimed — "Thank God ! Thank God !" 
And then they all united in a rousing "Hurrah!" which 
rang through the town. 

The man who had done the work walked briskly 
down the staging ; but his broad-shouldered friend 
who had supported him, came down very slowly. 
Every little while he stopped, and leaned against the 
staging, as though he could not walk any further. 
Still he kept on. But, as soon as he reached the foot 
of the scaffold, he fell, fainting to the ground. He 
was carried into a neighboring house, and a doctor 
was sent for. When they came to examine him, they 
found that his shoulders, and arms, and breast, were 
covered with terrible burns. While his comrade, 
whom he had borne on his shoulders, was at work, the 
melted lead, with which the work was done, was falling 
down, drop by drop, on this brave man. But, although 
he was suffering fearful agony, he never moved a limb. 
He knew that the least motion on his part, would 
cause his friend to totter and fall. And so, in the 



JONATHAN, THE MODEL FRIEND. 305 

midst of all his terrible suffering, he stood perfectly 
still. 

He was a faithful friend indeed, and fully worthy to 
take rank with Jonathan, the noble prince of Israel ! 

One other, very short story will finish this subject. 

A gentleman gave his two little children in charge 
of a negro servant, to be taken to a distant port. The 
vessel in which they sailed was wrecked, and had to 
be abandoned. The boats were so crowded that there 
was not room for the negro and the children. He had 
to take his choice, either to leave the children to go 
down with the sinking .ship, or to go down himself. 
In a moment he decided that the children should be 
saved. He kissed them ; grave them in charge of one 
of the sailors ; told him to tell his master that he had 
been faithful to his trust, and then, bravely waited to 
go down with the foundering vessel. This was a 
beautiful illustration of true faithfulness. And, negro 
though he was, he was worthy to be the companion 
of the princely Jonathan. 

We may always think of Jonathan as — the model 
friend. He was the model of a loving friend — of a 
generous friend — and of a faithful friend. Let us try 
to imitate his example, — and then we shall be real 

treasures — to our friends. 

20 



ELIJAH, THE MODEL REFORMER. 



"Elijah the Tishbite." — i Kings xvii : i. 




•LIJAH was one of the most remarkable 

men, of whom we read in the Bible. 

The name of Tishbite, here given to 

him, is supposed to refer to the town 

of Tishbe, in which he was born. And 

this is the first time that his name is mentioned. Not 

a word is said about his education, or early history. 

We are not told when he was appointed to be the 

prophet of the Lord ; nor how long he had been 

engaged in the duties of his office. He is a full-grown 

man, and actively at work in the service of God, when 

he is thus introduced to us as — "Elijah the Tishbite." 

He was raised up in the providence of God, to do 

a very remarkable work. The Israelites had fallen 

into idolatry. The public worship of the God of their 

fathers had been given up, and the worship of the 

idol Baal, had taken its place. And God had raised 

up Elijah to change this state of things, and bring the 

people back to the worship of the true God. He was 

to bring about a reformation in Israel.' And this is 
306 




ELIJAH BRINGS TO LIFE THE SON OP THE WIDOW. 



308 BIBLE MODELS. 

the point of view from which we propose to look at 
the life, and work of Elijah. We shall speak of Elijah 
as "the model reformer." And we all have work to do 
in the way of reformation. Our work may not be the 
reformation of the church, or of the nation, to which 
Elijah was called. But if we become Christians, and 
engage in the service of God, we shall have a work 
of reformation to carry on, in our own hearts and lives, 
and we shall need just the same qualities, in carrying 
out this work, which Elijah exercised, in doing the 
great work, entrusted to him. 

And when we look at Elijah, as the model reformer, 
we can see four points about this model, which we 
must try to imitate, if we hope to be as successful in our 
work, as he was, in carrying on the work he had to do. 

Elijah was, in the first place, a model of- — prompt- 
ness. 

Whatever God told him to do, he went to work at 
once, and did it. When he was told to go and tell 
Ahab, the king, that there would be no rain for three 
years, although he knew that it would make him very 
angry, he went right away and did it. And, three 
years after this, when he was . sent to deliver God's 
message to Ahab, although he knew that the king had 
been searching for him everywhere, that he might kill 
him, yet, he went, without a moment's delay, and did 
just what God had told him to do. He was prompt. 
And the lesson of promptness is a very important 
lesson for us to learn, and practise, both in the service 
of God, and in all our daily duties. Let us look at 
some illustrations of promptness and of the good that 
results from it. 



ELIJAH, THE MODEL REFORMER. 309 

Our first story may be called — 

Promptness Leads to Success. A few years ago, the 
owner of a large drug-store, advertised for a boy. The 
next day the store was thronged with boys applying 
for the place. Among them was a queer-looking little 
fellow, accompanied by his aunt. "Can't take him," 
said the gentleman; "he's too small." 

"I know he's small," said the aunt, "but he is 
prompt, and faithful." After some consultation, the 
boy Was set to work. Not long after, a call was 
made on the boys, for some one to stay in the 
store all night. The other boys seemed reluctant to 
offer their services. But this boy promptly said — "I'll 
stay, sir." 

In the middle of the night, the merchant went into 
the store to see that all was right, and found the boy 
busy at work cutting labels. "What are you doing, my 
boy?" said he. "I didn't tell you to work all night." 
"I know you didn't, sir. But I thought I might as well 
be doing something." 

The next day the cashier was told to "double that 
boy's wages, for he is prompt and industrious." 

Not many weeks after this, a show of wild beasts 
was passing through the streets, and naturally enough, 
all the hands in the store rushed out to see them. A 
thief saw his opportunity, and entered by the back 
door to steal something. But this prompt boy had 
stayed behind. He seized the thief, and after a short 
struggle captured him. Not only was a robbery 
prevented, but valuable articles stolen from other 
stores were recovered. 

"Why did you stay behind," asked the merchant of 



3IO BIBLE MODELS. 

this boy, "when all the others went out to see the 
show?" "Because, sir, you told me never to leave 
the store when the others were absent; so, I thought 
I'd stay." Orders were given once more: "Double 
that boy's wages, for he is not only prompt, and in- 
dustrious, but faithful." That boy is now getting a 
salary of twenty-five hundred dollars a year, and be- 
fore long he will become a member of the firm. He 
was following Elijah's model of promptness, and it 
helped to make his fortune. 

Here is a good story of a boy whom we may call — 

The Minute Boy. A shipping-merchant, in New 
York, had purchased a cargo of wheat at the West. 
He was expecting it on, and wished to ship it at once 
for Charleston, S. C. His agent there had sent him 
word, that the price of wheat was likely to fall, and 
that the sooner he could get it to the South, the better. 
This made him very anxious to get it off immediately 
on its arrival. 

At last it arrived; but, the day on which it came, 
happened to be a holiday. The men who usually 
worked for him, had gone off to spend the day in 
pleasure, and could not be had to handle the wheat. 

The merchant was very much worried about it. But 
just then he heard a knock at his office door. "Come 
in," said he. A young man entered. His clothes 
were poor, but clean, and neatly patched. 

"I understand, sir," said the boy, "that you wish to 
have a cargo of wheat loaded ?" 

"I do," replied the merchant. 

"Well, sir, I shall be pleased to do it for you." 

The merchant looked at him with surprise, and said: 



ELIJAH, THE MODEL REFORMER. 3 1 I 

"You! you! and pray, sir, how long before you will 
be ready to begin ?" 

"Just one minute, sir." 

"My lad," said the merchant, "if you load that 
wheat to-day, I will give you two hundred dollars." 

Instantly the boy stepped out. The next minute 
ten strong men came up, and went to work under the 
boy's direction. The work was done in good time, 
and the boy received his two hundred dollars. That 
boy had learned the lesson of promptness. This was 
the beginning of his course ; but he rose to be one 
of our very first merchants. 

I have one other story on this part of our subject. 
It may be called — 

Ten Minutes Delay. This story refers to the late 
young Prince Napoleon. When his father lost the 
empire of France, he went with his wife, the Empress 
Eugenie, and his son, the young prince, to live in Eng- 
land. The English were very kind to them. After 
his father's death, when war broke out between Eng- 
land and the Zulus in southern Africa, the prince, to 
show his gratitude to the English, offered to go to 
Africa, and help them fight the Zulus. He went, and 
just here the story comes in. 

It seems that this young prince had never learned 
the lesson of promptness. When he was told to do 
anything, he always used to ask for ten minutes' delay. 
When told to go to bed at night, he would ask to sit 
up ten minutes longer. When called to get up in the 
morning, he would beg for ten minutes' more sleep. 
He did this so constantly, that his mother used to call 
him — "Mister ten minutes." 



312 BIBLE MODELS. 

One day, when he was in Africa, a squad of six 
soldiers, under the command of Captain Carey, was 
ordered off some miles, to examine a particular part 
of the country. The Prince went with them. They 
reached the spot, and got through with their examina- 
tion. Then Captain Carey ordered the men to re- 
mount their horses and return. But the Prince, as 
usual, begged for ten minutes' delay. Before these ten 
minutes were over, a party of Zulus came upon them. 
They fired a volley ; and Prince Napoleon fell dead, 
with nineteen bullets in his body! He lost his life 
through that miserable habit of delay. If he had only 
learned the lesson of promptness, which we are con- 
sidering, humanly speaking, he might have been alive 
to-day. I will finish this part of our sermon, with 
quoting some simple lines which put this important 
lesson in its proper light. They are headed — 

WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT. 

If you have any task to do, 
Let me whisper, friend, to you, 
Do it. 

If you have anything to say, 
True and needed, yea or nay, 
Say it. 

If you have anything to give, 
That another's joy may live, 

Give it. 
If you know what torch to light, 
Guiding others through the night, 

Light it. 
If you have any debt to pay, 
Rest not either night or day — 

Pay it. 




ELIJAH AT THE BROOK CHERITH. 



3 14 BIBLE MODELS. 

If you have any grief to meet, 
At the loving Father's feet, 
Meet it. 

If you are given light to see 
What a child of God should be, 
See it. 

Whether life be bright or drear, 
There is a message sweet and clear, 
Whispered down to every ear — 
Hear it. 

Elijah was a model of promptness. Let us try to 
imitate his example, in this respect, and we shall find 
it very useful. 

But, in the second place, Elijah was a model of- — 
patience — as well as of promptness. 

When God wanted Elijah to work, he was, as we 
have seen, prompt to do, whatever he was bidden to do. 
And when he was told to wait, for the further mani- 
festation of God's will, he waited patiently. When 
the long three years' drought came on the land, God 
told him to go and hide himself "by the brook Cherith" 
near Jordan. He went, and remained there in patience, 
till he was ordered to leave. 

I have often seen pictures of Elijah at the brook 
Cherith. These pictures represented the prophet as 
sitting under the shadow of a tree, with a pleasant 
brook flowing by, and a beautiful landscape all around. 
And I used to think that it was in some such lovely 
place, that Elijah spent his long days of patient wait- 
ing. But the men who drew those pictures, had never 
seen the brook Cherith, and knew not what it was 
like. 



ELIJAH, THE MODEL REFORMER. 315 

When I was in the Holy Land, I learned better. In 
going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and the Jordan, 
we passed by the brook Cherith. On reaching the 
spot, I guided my horse gently along to the edge of a 
fearful precipice, and looked down. There was a 
dark valley, or chasm, hundreds of feet deep. The 
side of the valley, near where I stood, went down 
almost perpendicularly. From the other side of the 
valley, a steep, rocky mountain rose up like a wall of 
stone. At the bottom of this valley, I could see a 
little brook, winding its way through. That, was the 
brook Cherith. How gloomy, and dark it looked ! 
And all around was lonely, and wild, and desolate ! 
It gave me a chill to look at it then ; and it gives 
me a chill now to think about it. And that lonely 
and dreary-looking valley, was the place where God 
told Elijah to go, and hide himself from Ahab. 
There he went, and there he stayed, for eighteen 
months, or two years. And during all those long and 
lonely days and months, he saw no one, and had no 
one to speak to. The ravens brought him bread and 
flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the even- 
ing, and he drank of the brook. God told him to go 
there, and he went. God told him to stay there, and 
he stayed. He never worried, nor murmured ; but 
waited patiently till God's time should come for him 
to change his place. How well Elijah had learned 
the lesson of patience ! And, in the work of refor- 
mation which we have to do, in our own hearts and 
lives, one of the most important things for us is, to 
learn well this lesson of patience. Let us look at 
some illustrations of this part of our subject. 



316 BIBLE MODELS. 

We may begin with a little story called — 

One Day at a Time. A certain lady met with a very 
serious accident. A surgical operation was necessary, 
which would confine her to her bed for many months. 
When the surgeon had finished his work, and was 
about taking leave of her, she said to him : "Doctor, 
how long will I have to lie here helpless ?" 

"Oh!" said the doctor, in a cheerful way — "only 
one day at a time." 

This thought gave her comfort ; and during the 
weary weeks, and months that she lay suffering there, 
she learned the lesson of patience, by often saying to 
herself — "Only one day at a time." 

I think it was Sidney Smith who said that taking 
"short views" of things was the best way to learn 
patience. And one, wiser far than he, taught us the 
same lesson, when he said: "Take, therefore, no 
thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take 
thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the 
day is the evil thereof." 

This is just the same as saying — "Only one day 
at a time." 

A Patient Sufferer. There is a poor suffering 
Christian woman, living near Hartford, Conn., who is 
one of the best examples of patience that I have ever 
heard of. She has been confined to her bed for years, 
in great suffering. She is entirely helpless, and has 
nothing to live on, but what is given by her friends. 
Yet she is always cheerful, and patient. Her name 
is Chloe Lankton. Listen to this letter, which she 
wrote last summer to a friend, who had sent her 
some money. 




ELIJAH PROPHESIES. 



3 l8 BIBLE MODELS. 

New Hartford, Conn. 
"My Dear Friend : 

"Your note is received, with its check for $15. Many 
thanks to you for your kind gift. My heart overflows with grati- 
tude for all the kindness received from you in years past. You 
have added greatly to my comfort, God bless you ! I still live, 
and suffer as usual, sometimes much worse than others. God still 
sustains me under all my heavy trials. It is forty-eight years this 
month, since I have been entirely confined to this bed of pain and 
suffering. Jesus only knows what I have suffered. But I feel re- 
signed to the will of God. I will trust him to the end. 
"Your grateful friend, 

"Chloe Lankton." 

What an illustration of patience we have here ! 
Nearly fifty years she has lain, poor and helpless, on 
that bed of suffering ! When we feel tempted to mur- 
mur, under our lighter trials, let us think of Chloe 
Lankton, and try to learn the lesson of patience. 

The Pansy. Here is a little fable which illustrates 
the point now before us very sweetly. It is about the 
trouble that arose one time in the garden of a certain 
king. The trees in that garden all began to murmur 
and complain The oak tree complained because it 
did not bear flowers. The rosebush found fault be- 
cause it bore no fruit. The vine was full of complaints 
because it could not grow up by itself, like the oak, 
but had to lean against the wall. 

One day, when the king came into the garden, he 
found the trees, and plants all discontented and impa- 
tient. 

"I never bore a flower in my life," said the oak, 
"and I am of no use in the world." 

"I might just as well die," said the rosebush, "for 
I never bear any fruit." 



ELIJAH, THE MODEL REFORMER. 319 

"What good can I do in the world?" said the vine. 
"I never can stand by myself, but always have to go 
leaning on something else." 

Then the king saw a little flower, called a pansy, 
which was looking very bright and cheerful. 

"My darling little flower," said the king, "what 
makes you look so fresh, and happy, while all the rest 
are murmuring and complaining?" 

"I thought," said the little flower, " that you planted 
me here, because you wanted me to be a nice, good 
pansy, and so I made up my mind that I would try to 
be the best little pansy in all the garden." How beau- 
tiful that was in the pansy ! It had learned the lesson 
of patience, and was practising that lesson. 

Let us remember this. God has put us all where 
we are. He knows what is best for us ; and He wants 
us to be patient, and try to serve Him just there. As 
the. Catechism says, we must — "do our duty in that 
state of life, unto which it has pleased God to call us." 
And if we learn to do this, we shall be practising the 
lesson of patience. 

But, in carrying on his work of reformation, Elijah 
was, in the third place, a model of- — confidence ; and 
we should try to follow his example, in this respect. 

At one time, in the life of Elijah, there had been no 
rain in the land of Israel for more than three years. 
The people were suffering greatly, for the-whole coun- 
try was parched, and dried up. The time had come 
when God had promised to send rain. And Elijah 
had great confidence in God's promise. He felt sure, 
that whatever else might happen, His promise would 
never fail. But then, he knew that it is not enough 



320 BIBLE MODELS. 

merely to have faith in God's word. We must not 
rest in our confidence alone. There is always some- 
thing for us to do, at the same time that we are trust- 
ing to God. Elijah saw that the proper thing for him 
to do, was to pray for the rain, which God had prom- 
ised to send. So he resolved to pray till the rain 
came. 

He was at the foot of Mount Carmel, which over- 
looks the Mediterranean Sea. And while he was 
engaged in prayer, he told his servant to go up to 
the top of Carmel, and look out over the sea, for 
some sign of the promised rain. While his servant 
was on his way, Elijah was engaged in prayer. After 
awhile the servant came back, and said there was no 
sign of rain. Then he told him to go again, and he 
kept on praying. He came back the second time, 
and said: "I see nothing." "Go again," said the 
prophet, and still he prayed. He came back the third 
time, with the same report. "Go again," said his 
master, and went on with his prayers. He came back 
the fourth time, and said: "I see nothing." "Go 
again," said the prophet, and continued his prayers. 
He came back the fifth time, and said : "There is noth- 
ing." "Go again," said the man of God, and he 
prayed on. He came back the sixth time, and said — 
"Still there is no sign of rain." Now, most men 
would have" got tired by this time, and would have 
given up, saying: "It's not worth while to try any 
longer." But Elijah was a man of confidence in God. 
And just here, we see how beautifully his confidence 
shines forth. He never, for a moment, thought of 
giving up. He felt perfectly sure that God's promise 



ELIJAH, THE MODEL REFORMER. 32 1 

could not fail, and that the rain would come. So he 
said to his servant — "Go again the seventh time," and 
he went on praying-. His servant came back the 
seventh time, saying: "I see a little cloud, rising out 
of the sea, like a man's hand." Then Elijah knew 
that his confidence was rewarded, and the rain was 
coming. And presently that little cloud spread itself 
out till — "the heavens were black with clouds, and 
there was a great rain." 

Here, we see how truly Elijah was — a model of con- 
fidence. And we must learn to imitate this point of 
his model character, and have the same kind of con- 
fidence in God, if we hope to serve Him acceptably as 
Elijah did. 

Let us look at some other illustrations of what this 
confidence is, and of the way in which it leads people 
to act. 

When Martin Luther, the great reformer, was on 
his way to the city of Worms, where the Emperor, 
Charles V., had summoned a great Council to try him, 
some of his friends tried to persuade him not to go 
there. They were afraid if he ventured to go, he 
would be thrown into prison, and put to death. But 
Luther's confidence in God was so great, that he never 
had a moment's fear. He said to those who were 
trying to keep him back : "If there were as many 
devils in Worms, as there are tiles on the roofs of its 
houses, I would still go there." What noble confi- 
dence that was ! 

A Child' 's Life Saved by Trust in God. — A maid- 
servant in India, who was a heathen, was received into 
a Christian family, to have the charge of the children. 



32 2 BIBLE MODELS. 

She attended prayers in this family, and so learned to 
know something about the God whom Christians wor- 
shipped. She used to take the children out, and was 
well acquainted with all the places in that neighbor- 
hood. She was gentle and kind to the children, 
and the family liked her very much. 

One day, when she was out with the children, they 
went farther in their walk than usual, and being tired 
they all sat down on the grass to rest. One of the 
little ones strayed away, and not returning at once, the 
nurse said she would go and look after her, and told 
the other children to stay where they were, till she 
returned. 

She ran off, calling the child by name as she went. 
Presently she heard the child's voice, answering her 
call. Very soon they met, but judge of her surprise 
when she saw a great fierce-looking tiger, coming up 
towards the child. She ran at once and bravely took 
her stand between the child and the tiger. In a mo- 
ment the thought came into her mind, I must trust my 
master's God. Then she threw herself on her knees, 
and in an agony of feeling offered up this short prayer: 
"Oh! my master's God, save my master's child, for 
Jesus' sake ! Amen." 

She rose from her knees, and looking towards the 
tiger, saw that it had turned round, and was walking 
away into the thicket. Here we see what a blessing 
confidence in God is. 

I have one other story under this part of our sub- 
ject. It shows us how much comfort a poor colored 
woman found from exercising simple confidence in 
God. Her name was Nancy. She supported herself 



ELIJAH, THE MODEL REFORMER. 323 

by washing, and was very poor. But still she was 
always cheerful and happy. One day a Christian man, 
who had never learned to have proper trust in God, 
and was always worrying about the future, stopped to 
speak to her. 

"Ah! Nancy, how can you sing away, and always 
be so happy? I should think that when you looked 
forward to the future, it would take away all your hap- 
piness. Suppose, for instance, that you should be 
sick, and not able to work; what would become of 
you ? Or, suppose your present employers should 
move away, and no one else would give you any work 
to do; or suppose — " 

" Please stop !" cried Nancy. " Massa, I neber sup- 
poses. De Lord is my Shepherd, and I knows I shall 
not want. And honey," she added to her gloomy 
friend, "it's dem supposes, as is makin' you so mis'ble. 
You orter give dem all up, and jus' trus' in de Lord." 

This is true. That poor woman was imitating the 
point of Elijah's model now before us. She had 
learned, and was beautifully practising the lesson of 
confidence in God. 

And then, in the fourth place, Elijah was — a model 

^/^COURAGE. 

There came a time in Elijah's life, when he had to 
engage in a very trying work — a work in which great 
courage was needed. He told the king to call all the 
people of Israel together, and all the prophets of 
Baal — four hundred and fifty in number — that they 
might settle the question whether the Lord was God, 
or Baal. There was the whole nation of Israel, and 
all the prophets of Baal on one side, in this matter, and 



324 BIBLE MODELS. 

Elijah alone, on the other — and yet, without a mo- 
ment's fear, he went bravely on to do what God had 
told him to do. 

Was the Lord Jehovah, or was the idol Baal the 
true God? — that was the question they had to settle. 
And this was the plan which Elijah proposed for 
settling the question. He said, let us build two 
altars — one for the priests of Baal, and one for me. 
We will put the wood on the altar, and the sacrifice, 
but no fire. Then we will each call on our God, to 
send down fire from heaven, to consume the sacrifice, 
and the God who answers by fire, we will agree be- 
forehand to acknowledge as the true God. This was 
the understanding. Then Elijah told the prophets of 
Baal to begin first, as they were many. So they built 
an altar, and put the wood upon it, and laid the sacri- 
fice upon the wood ; and then they began to pray to 
their god Baal, to send down fire upon the altar. They 
kept on praying till noon ; but there was no answer. 
Then Elijah made sport of them. He said: "Cry 
louder, for he is a god. Maybe he is away from 
home; or perhaps he is asleep, and must be wakened 
up. Then they cried louder, and cut themselves with 
knives, till the blood gushed out. They kept doing 
this, till three o'clock in the afternoon. But there was 
no answer to their prayers; and no fire came down 
from heaven. 

And now Elijah's time was come. He called the 
people near to him. He built an altar, and put the 
wood and the sacrifice upon it. And then, to show 
that there was no cheating about it, he had twelve bar- 
rels of water poured over his altar. Then he kneeled 




ELIJAH AND THE PRIESTS OP BAAL. 



326 BIBLE MODELS. 

down, and prayed to the God of Israel He asked 
Him to hear his prayer, and to turn the hearts of the 
people away from their idols, and to prove that He 
was the true God, by sending down fire from heaven. 
His prayer was answered ; and, while he was yet 
speaking, the fire came down from heaven, and con- 
sumed the sacrifice, and licked up the water that was 
about the altar. 

When the people saw this, they cried out: "The 
Lord, He is the God ! The Lord, He is the God !" 

Then Elijah said : " Take all the prophets of Baal. 
Let not one of them escape. And bring them down 
to the brook." And they were brought down to the 
brook Kishon, and Elijah slew them there. Thus 
Elijah's work of reformation was finished. He en- 
gaged alone in that struggle — one man against four 
hundred and fifty ; and yet he was not afraid. Truly 
he was a model of courage ! And we must have just 
the same kind of courage, if we hope to be successful, 
in the work of reformation we have to carry on in our 
own hearts, and lives. Let us look at some examples 
of courage, and of the good it will enable us to do. 

Courage in Telling the Truth. Charley Mann was 
playing one day after school. A ball that he threw 
smashed a large pane of plate-glass, in the window of 
a drug-store. He did this without intending it. He 
was very much frightened, and at first he ran away. 
But presently he said to himself — "What am I run- 
ning away for? I didn't mean to do it. It was an 
accident. I'll just go back, and tell the truth." He 
did so. Charley was a brave boy. He told the whole 
truth. "The ball that I was playing with," said he, 



ELIJAH, THE MODEL REFORMER. T> 2 7 

"slipped out of my hand before I knew it. I'm awful 
sorry for it. If I had money I would gladly pay for it. 
But I have no money. If I can pay for it by work- 
ing, I'll do anything you want me to do." So it was 
arranged that Charley should run on errands, and 
sweep the store out every day, and keep the pavement 
clean. He was to be allowed a dollar and a half a 
week for this work, and he kept steadily on with it, 
till he had earned enough to pay for the broken pane. 
But by this time, the keeper of the store had got so 
fond of Charley, for his honesty, and industry, and 
truthfulness, that he was unwilling to give him up. He 
took him into the store, and made Charley his clerk, 
and gave him a good salary. In talking about it to 
his mother, one day, Charley said : 

"What a lucky day it was for me, when I broke that 
window !" 

"No, my dear boy," said his mother, "the lucky 
thing about it was, not that you broke the pane, but 
that you had the courage to go back and tell the truth 
about it, and offer to do the right thing." That was 
true. 

I have only one other story to tell. Please pay 
special attention to this story. I am sure you will 
feel that it is worthy of it, when you find out who the 
boy was to whom it refers. We may call it — 

The Brave Boy. Some years ago, on the frontiers 
of Ohio, there lived an industrious boy. He was the 
son of a poor widow. But he had the courage always 
to do what he knew was right and to refuse to do 
what he believed was wrong. 

One day, a companion of his, proposed that they 



32i 



BIBLE MODELS. 



should spend the coming Sabbath, in going to a neigh- 
boring village, and visiting a mutual friend. 

"Not on Sunday," said the boy. 

"Why not?" 

"Because it isn't right." 

"If you and I never do anything worse than that, 
Jim, we'll be pretty good fellows." 

"We shouldn't be any better certainly for doing 
that." 

"Nor any worse either in my opinion," said his 
friend. 

" My mother wouldn't consent to it," said James. 

"I don't know whether mine would or not, and I 
don't care — I shouldn't ask her," said his friend. 

"I never go anywhere, or do anything, against my 
mother's advice," said James. "I know what she 
thinks about the Sabbath, and I respect her feelings. 
I shan't go on Sunday." 

" And you can't go any other day, because you have 
so much to do," said his companion. 

" Rather than go on Sunday, I'll not go at all," said 
James. "If I had no scruples of my own about it, I 
should have no comfort in going against my mother's 
wishes." 

This ended the matter. Boys, follow the example 
of this brave boy. Always respect the Sabbath, and 
like this heroic boy, have the courage to refuse to do 
anything that you know will be displeasing to your 
Christian parents. The noble, and courageous boy, 
whose example I now hold up for your imitation was — 
James A. Garfield — our once loved, and honored, and 
martyred — President. He had learned the lesson of 



ELIJAH, THE MODEL REFORMER. 



329 



courage. And it was that, with God's blessing, which 
helped to make him the great, and good man that he 
rose to be. 

And thus we have considered the character of Elijah 
the model reformer. There are four good points in 
this model. He was a model of promptness — a model 
of patie7ice — a model of confidence — and a model of 
courage. Let us pray for grace to follow his example 
in these respects, and it will make us successful in 
the reformation of our own hearts and lives. 




ELISHA, THE MODEL HELPER. 



"My father, my father ! the chariot of Israel, and the 
horsemen thereof." — 2 Kings xiii : 14. 




^kURING the last sickness of the prophet 
Elisha, these words were spoken by the 
king of Israel, who was visiting him. The 
time had come when Elisha was to die. 
He was a very old man, and had made 
himself useful to the people of Israel all his days. He 
had prayed for them when they were in trouble. He 
had given them wise counsel, when they knew not 
what to do. He had performed many miracles for 
them, and had been a help to them, in a great variety 
of ways. He did not have a work of reformation to 
do, like that which Elijah had performed. But, like 
our blessed Saviour, "he went about doing good." 
He healed the sick; he raised the dead; he fed the 
hungry ; he gave good water for the thirsty to drink ; 
he comforted the sorrowing; and brought relief and 
deliverance to those who were oppressed with trouble. 
The mission on which he was sent, was a mission to 
help people. And he fulfilled this mission most faith- 
330 



ELISHA, THE MODEL HELPER. 33 1 

fully. So we may well speak of Elisha as — the Model 
Helper. And, in this respect, it will be well for us all 
to try and imitate the model he has left us. There is 
work here for us all to do. No matter whether we 
are old, or young ; rich, or poor ; sick, or well ; there 
will always be some about us, who need our help ; and 
we can make ourselves both happy, and useful, by 
trying to be helpers as Elisha was. 

And when we look carefully at the model which 
Elisha has set before us, we find four good points in 
it ; or four things about his way of helping, in which 
it will be well for us to follow his example. 

In the first place, Elisha was the model of- — a ready 
— helper. 

Some people will help their friends when they are 
obliged to do so, but they are not ready, or willing 
helpers. Our Saviour tells us of one of these men. 
He spoke a parable about him. He said, suppose 
you have a friend. You go to him at midnight, and 
say, please lend me some loaves, for a friend of mine 
has come to visit me, and I have nothing to set before 
him. And the friend to whom you apply for help, 
says, "Oh, don't bother me now. My children are 
with me in bed, and I cannot get up to help you." 
But, if you keep on asking for help, and teasing him 
about it, after awhile he will be tired of hearing you ; 
and then he will get up, and give you the help you 
need. This man would be a helper, indeed, but not 
a ready helper. He was not willing to help, till he 
was obliged to do it. But it was different with Elisha. 
He was always ready to help. He never had to be 
asked twice for help. 



332 BIBLE MODELS. 

One day, the Shunamite woman came, in great dis- 
tress, to tell him of the death of her son. He sent 
his servant Gehazi, to go to her house at once. And 
then he followed himself, with the poor sorrowing 
mother. He raised her son to life again, and so gave 
her the help she needed. Thus he proved himself a 
ready helper. And we should try always to be ready 
in giving the help that is asked of us. 

And now, for our encouragement, let us look at 
some examples of ready helpers. 

Here is a story which we may call — 

A Ray in the Dark. It illustrates this part of our 
subject very nicely. 

"During my last voyage to India," says an English 
missionary, "I was sitting in my state-room alone one 
evening. The wind was rising. The sea was rough, 
and not being much of a sailor, I was getting to* feel 
very uncomfortable from sea-sickness. Suddenly the 
cry of — "A man overboard!" made me jump to my 
feet. I heard a great tramping overhead, caused by 
the men running about. I made up my mind not to 
go on deck, lest I should be in the way of the crew, 
who were trying to save the poor man. I said to my- 
self: "What can / do?" In a moment I unhooked 
my lamp, that hung at the side of my cabin, and held 
it close up to the bull's-eye window, that its light might 
shine upon the sea. As I did this, I said to myself: 
"Perhaps the feeble light of this lamp, may help to 
save the poor fellow from drowning." 

In a short time I heard the joyful cry, "All right: 
he's safe." And when I went up on deck, the next 
morning, judge of my surprise and joy, to find that 




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ELISHA BRINGS THE WOMAN'S SON TO LIFE. 



334 BIBLE MODELS. 

my little lamp had been the means of saving the poor 
man's life ; for it was by the light which shone from it, 
that he was enabled to see, and grasp the knotted 
rope, which had been thrown over for him to take hold 
of. Now this minister was a ready helper. And this 
is what we should strive to be. Let us always be 
ready to lift up our light, and "let it so shine," that 
men may see the way of salvation, the rope thrown 
out for them to take hold of And then, in the bright 
resurrection morning, we shall find that our little light 
has helped to save some soul from death, when we 
least expected it. 

Helping a Fellow tip. A little boy was lying on the 
ground, crying as if his heart would break. Another 
little boy, named Tommy, was trying to comfort him. 

"What are you doing, Tommy ?" asked a lady who 
knew him. 

"Oh, I'm only trying to help a fellow up," said 
Tommy. That is just the right thing to do. We 
may all take it as our life motto, to help a fellow 
up. Wherever we go, we shall always find some poor 
fellow, who needs to be helped up. 

What would have become of Martin Luther, when 
he was a young man, singing in the streets for his 
bread, if some one had not put out a hand and helped 
a fellow up ? There are hundreds of useful men and 
women, to-day, doing great good, who never would 
have been where they are, and what they are, if 
there had not been some one, in their time of need, 
ready to help them up. Let us make it our business 
in life to be — ready helpers. 

I have just one other illustration of this part of our 



ELISHA, THE MODEL HELPER. 335 

sermon. The title of it may be expressed in two little 
words — 

Do It. Some years ago, a good Christian lady died 
in New York, whose name was Mrs. Doremus. She 
had been a dear loving servant of the blessed Saviour, 
for more than fifty years. She was a ready helper, 
in every good work. She had been so useful that she 
was known in all parts of the world. She taught the 
children in a mission school. She helped the poor ; 
she comforted the sick ; she visited the orphan chil- 
dren in the asylums, and made them glad ; she went 
into the homes of old and worn-out people, and 
cheered the sorrowing hearts she found there ; and 
helped in all good works. Wise and good mission- 
aries, and ministers called her — mother — because she 
helped them in their work, and was so true, and wise, 
and kind, and unselfish. Her long life was a life of 
blessing to others ; for she was so full of love to 
Christ, and joy in serving Him, that her example was 
like sunshine to warm and brighten everywhere. 

Somebody asked her, one day, how she could do 
so much work? She gave her answer in the use of 
the two little words, we have put at the head of this 
article, saying: "When I have anything to do — I — 
do it." "Do it," that was the secret of her great use- 
fulness. She was a ready helper. She began when 
she was young, to love and serve Jesus. And He 
showed her how to help people ; and taught her, when 
she had anything to do, to — do it. Let us try to follow 
the example of this good woman ; and then we shall 
be imitating the model which Elisha has left us, when 
we think of him as — a ready helper. 



32,6 BIBLE MODELS. 

But, in the second place, Elisha was the model of- — a 
kind — helper. 

One day, a poor widow woman came to him in great 
distress. She was in debt for a sum of money, which 
she could not pay. The man to whom she owed it, 
had threatened if it was not paid, to take her two 
sons, and sell them as slaves. This would break the 
poor mother's heart. So she came to the prophet 
Elisha, telling him her sad story, and asking him to 
help her. He had no money to give her; and he 
might have said: 

"I am very sorry for you, my friend. If I had any 
money, with which to pay your debt, I would gladly 
give it to you. But, I have no money, and I can do 
nothing to help you out of this trouble." But Elisha 
was too kind-hearted to treat her so. Then he asked 
her what she had in her home. She said she had 
nothing but a jar of oil. Elisha told her to go home, 
and borrow from her neighbors, as many empty oil 
jars as she could get, and then to begin and pour out 
the oil from that one jar, and he would ask God to 
increase the oil, till all those jars were filled ; and that 
then she could go and sell the oil, and pay her debt, 
with the money this would bring her, and thus she 
could save her sons from being sold into slavery. She 
did so ; and the oil never gave out till all those empty 
jars were filled. In this way she not only had money 
enough to pay her debt, but there was a good deal 
left for herself, and sons to live upon. This shows 
what a kind helper Elisha was. 

One day, when he was in the city of Jericho, the men 
of that city came to him and asked his help. They were 



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THE WIDOWS JAR OF OIL FILLS MANY OTHERS. 




32,8 BIBLE MODELS. 

dependent for their supply of water, on a large foun- 
tain, outside the walls of their city. But, the water 
from that fountain was not very pleasant, or whole- 
some to drink, and it had the strange effect of making 
the land barren, as it flowed through it. They asked 
Elisha to heal that fountain, and relieve them of this 
great trouble. He took a vessel full of salt, and threw 
it into the fountain, asking God to heal the water. 
He did so, and as the Bible history tells us, "there 
was no more death, or barren land," from that foun- 
tain. Its water continues fresh and good, unto this 
day. I can bear witness to the truth of this state- 
ment. For when in the Holy Land, while visiting the 
ruins of Jericho, we went to Elisha's fountain, and 
drank of its water, and found it very pure and pleas- 
ant. What a kind helper Elisha was, when he did 
this good deed for the men of Jericho ! And so, he 
went about all his days, proving himself to be a kind 
helper wherever he went. And we should try to fol- 
low his example, by kindly helping those around us, 
who are in trouble. 

Here are some illustrations of the way in which we 
may do this. 

/ Like to Help People. One day, an old lady was 
trying to get over the crossing, of a crowded street, 
in the city of New York. She had a basket, and 
several parcels to carry, and was afraid to venture 
off the pavement. As she stood on the curbstone, 
wondering how she could ever get over, a bright little 
fellow, about twelve years old, came along. He saw 
her trouble, and going up to her, kindly said : "Please 
ma'am, let me help you over." He picked up her 



ELISHA, THE MODEL HELPER. 339 

parcels, and walked by her side, across the street. 
When they got over, he laid down the parcels, and 
taking a piece of strong string out of his pocket, 
he tied the parcels together, so that they could 
be easily carried, and then handed them to the old 
lady, saying: "Now, ma'am, you can get along better 
with them." 

"My dear young friend," she said, "how can I ever 
thank you enough, for your great kindness to me?" 
"Oh, nevermind, ma'am about the thanks," said the 
little fellow, "/ like to help people" That dear boy 
was proving himself a real kind helper. 

Kind Words. One summer afternoon, a little match- 
girl, with a basket on her arm, stood at the entrance 
of one of the large railway stations in London. "Buy 
a box, please, sir," she kept saying as she stood there. 
But the busy crowd took no notice of her. At last, 
one gentleman stopped a moment to look at her. 
"Buy a box, please, sir," said the little girl. "No, I 
don't want any," he said, and was about to hurry on, 
when the hungry look of the poor child touched his 
heart. He remembered a bag of biscuits, which his 
little daughter had put in his pocket, for his luncheon, 
before he left home that morning, and which he had 
been too busy to eat.. So he took the bag out of his 
pocket, and handed it to her, saying, as he did so, 
"Here, my darling, are some biscuits for you." She 
took them, without a word of thanks, which rather 
surprised him. After going a few steps, he turned to 
look at her again. There she stood, with the bag in 
her hand, and her eyes filled with tears, and he heard 
her saying to herself: "He called me darling, he did." 



34° BIBLE MODELS. 

Oh, what a help, and comfort those few kind words 
were to. that poor child ! That gentleman was a kind 
helper. 

I have just one other story, under this part of our 
sermon. It is about the great Duke of Wellington, 
and shows what a kind helper he was. 

The Boy with his Toad. One day, the Duke was 
taking his usual walk in the country, when he heard a 
cry of distress. He walked to the spot from which 
the cry came, and there he found a chubby, rosy-faced 
little boy, lying on the ground, bending his head over 
a tame toad, and crying most pitifully. 

"What's the matter, my little lad," asked the Duke. 

"Oh, please, sir, here's my poor toad. I bring it 
something to eat every morning. But they are going 
to send me off to school, ever so far away. Nobody 
will bring it anything to eat when I am gone, and I'm 
afraid it will die." 

"Never mind, don't cry my lad — I'll see that the 
toad is well fed, and you shall hear about it, when you 
are at school." 

The boy thanked the gentleman heartily, dried up 
his tears and went home, without knowing who the 
kind gentleman was. But, after he had been a week 
or two at school, he received one day, a letter written 

as follows : — 

Strathfieldsaye, July 27, 1837. 

"Field -Marshal, the Duke of Wellington, is happy to inform 
William Harris, that his toad is alive and well." 

Five times, during that school-term, Willie received 
similar letters from the great Duke. And when vaca- 
tion time came, and he returned home, he found his 



ELISHA, THE MODEL HELPER. j/LI 

toad alive and well. The Duke of Wellington was a 
kind helper, as Elisha was. 

.Let us all try to imitate the model helper in this 
point of his character, by being kind helpers. 

But, in the third place — Elisha was the model of- — a 
useful — helper. 

During the lifetime of this good prophet, there was 
a sort of theological seminary, in the city of Jericho. 
They used to call it "the school of the prophets." A 
large number of young men attended this school. At 
one time they found that their building was too small, 
and that it was necessary to enlarge it. So a number 
of them went into the woods, in order to get the 
timber necessary to make the alteration. They in- 
vited Elisha to go with them, and he went. While 
they were engaged in this work, one of the young 
men was busy cutting down a tree, by the bank of a 
river. As he went on chopping, his axe flew off its 
handle, fell into the water and sank to the bottom. As 
the axe was not his own, but one that he had borrowed 
for that occasion, he was greatly distressed at the 
thought of losina- it. He turned to Elisha, and ex- 
claimed: "Alas! my master, for it was borrowed!" 
The prophet plucked off a twig, and threw it into the 
water. In a moment, the heavy iron axe came floating 
up to the top of the water, like a chip. The man got 
his axe, and went on with his work. Here we see 
what a useful helper Elisha was. 

He went out with the sons of the prophets again, 
on another occasion. They were going to have a sort 
of picnic in the woods, and they had a cook along 
with them to get their dinner. He undertook to 



34 2 BIBLE MODELS. 

prepare them some soup. But, in making it, he put 
in some vegetables that he was not acquainted with. 
These proved to be poisonous. And at dinner-time, 
as soon as they began to eat the soup, they were taken 
sick. Then one of them turned to Elisha, and said : 
"Oh, thou, man of God, there is death in the pot." 
"Bring me some meal," said the prophet. The meal 
was brought. He took a handful, and sprinkled it in 
the pot. Immediately the poison was removed, and 
they all enjoyed their dinner very much. 

And so this man of God spent all his days in show- 
ing himself to be a useful helper. 

Now let us look at some illustrations of the great 
good that we may do, if we try to follow his example. 

What are You Doing? A gentleman met a little 
boy, hauling a baby in a small wagon. 

"My little fellow," said the gentleman, "what are 
you doing to help anybody?" The boy stopped a 
moment, and then, looking up at the gentleman, he 
said: 

" Why, I'm trying to help mother, who is sick, by 
making the baby happy, so that he won't trouble her." 

That little fellow was making himself a useful helper. 

A Scene in a Railway Station. This story is told 
by a lady who was present. It was a bleak, snowy 
day. The train was late. About a dozen females, old 
and young, were in the ladies' waiting-room. Just 
then, a poor old woman, shaking with palsy, came in. 
She had a basket on her arm, full of papers of pins, 
and tapes, and cakes of soap, and such things, which 
she was offering to sell ; but no one bought anything. 
The poor old body stood for a minute, looking through 



ELISHA, THE MODEL HELPER. 343 

the window, as if unwilling to venture out into the 
storm again. Then turning round, she went about the 
room, as if trying to find something. A lady in black, 
sitting on one of the sofas, saw the old woman, and 
going up to her, said, in a kind way : " Have you lost 
anything, ma'am ?" 

" No, dear. I'm lookin' for the heatin' place, to 
have a warm 'fore I goes out again. But my eyes is 
poor, an' I don't seem to find the furnace nowheres." 

" Here it is," said the lady, as she led her to the 
opening, where the furnace heat came out. Then she 
placed a chair for her to sit on, and showed her how 
to warm her feet. 

"Well, now, ain't this nice?" said the old woman, 
spreading out her ragged mittens to dry. " Thanky, 
dear! this is proper comfortable, ain't it? I'm most 
frozen to-day, being lame, an' wimbly; an' not sellin' 
much, makes me feel a kind of down-hearted." 

The lady smiled, and then went to the counter, and 
bought a cup of tea, with some rolls, and carrying 
them herself to the old woman, she said, in the kindest 
possible way: "Won't you have a cup of tea, my 
friend ; it's very comforting such a day as this." 

"Sakes alive! an' do they give tea in this depot?" 
asked the old woman, in a tone of innocent surprise, 
which brought a smile to the faces of all in the room. 
"Well, now, this is jest lovely," she added, as she 
went on sipping her tea with a relish. "This smoothes 
all the wrinkles out of my poor old heart." 

And while she was warming- and refreshing herself, 
the lady in black looked over her basket, and picked 
out some soap, and pins, and shoe-strings and tape, 



344 BIBLE MODELS. 

and cheered the old soul by paying her well for 
them. 

The kind act, and gentle words, of that lady in black, 
not only cheered and comforted the poor old woman, 
but they had a good effect on all the people in that 
room, and taught them a lesson that they would never 
forget. She was proving herself a useful helper, and 
showing others how they might do the same. 

I have one other illustration under this part of our 
subject. We may call it — 

The Good One Man Can Do. The pastor of a 
village church, in speaking to a friend one day, said : 
" There is a man in our church, a carpenter, who does 
more good, I really believe in our village, than any 
other person who ever lived in it. He cannot speak 
very well in our meetings, and he doesn't often try. 
He is not a rich man, and never has much money to 
give to any object. But, a new family never comes 
into the village, that he does not find them out. He 
calls on them, gives them a hearty welcome, and kindly 
offers to do for them anything in his power. He is 
always on the look out, to give strangers a seat, in his 
pew at church. If any one is sick in the neighborhood, 
he calls at the house, and offers to sit up at nights, and 
to attend to any business for him ; and I've sometimes 
thought that he and his wife keep house-plants, through 
the winter, just on purpose to have bouquets of flowers 
to send to sick people. He finds time to speak a 
pleasant word to every child he meets in the street. 
All the children of the village know him, and love him. 
And when he is driving his one-horse wagon, with no 
other load, you will often see the children climb up 




BLISHA HEALS THE SICK. 



346 BIBLE MODELS. 

into it till it is full. He has brought more scholars 
into our Sabbath-school, than any other half dozen 
people in the village. He really seems to take de- 
light in helping people, in all sorts of ways. And I 
never meet him in the street, but it does me good to 
look at him. 

Now, certainly this good village carpenter had 
learned to follow the example Elisha left us. He was 
proving himself to be a useful helper. Let us all try 
to tread in his steps, and be useful helpers to all 
about us. 

In the fourth place, Elisha was the model of- — a 
powerful — helper. 

When he went about trying to help people, he did 
not do it in his own strength. He felt that he had 
the arm of God to lean upon. And, when leaning on 
that arm, he was not afraid of anything. And this 
was just the way the apostle felt, when he said : " I 
can do all things through Christ strengthening me." 
And what was true of St. Paul, is just as true of you 
and me. If we wish to be true helpers we must get 
the same strength that the great apostle had ; or the 
same power that Elisha had. 

We may speak of two illustrations found in the 
life of Elisha, of the power which he had as a helper. 

One day, a splendid chariot drove up to the door 
of Elisha's house. Sitting in that chariot was a famous 
soldier. He was the captain — or as we should say, the 
general — of the army of the king of Syria. He had 
fought many battles, and gained many victories. He 
was one of the greatest men of his day. But, poor 
fellow ! what good did all this greatness, and glory do 



ELISHA, THE MODEL HELPER. 347 

for him, when he had that dreadful disease — the leprosy. 
His name was — Naaman. His wife had a little girl, 
who waited on her. This girl had been carried away, 
as a captive from the land of Israel. One day, when 
hearing how much her master Naaman suffered, from 
his terrible disease, she said to her mistress: "Oh, how 
I wish my master would go and see the prophet Elisha, 
who is in the land of Israel ! for he could cure him of 
his leprosy." These words, of his wife's waiting-girl, 
were told to Naaman. It seemed to him too good to 
be true. But still he thought it was worth trying. He 
made up his mind to go and visit the prophet. He 
took the long journey from the city of Damascus, to 
the city of Samaria, where Elisha lived. On arriving 
at Samaria, he inquired for Elisha's home. Then he 
drove up to the house, and stopped his chariot in front 
of the door. When the servant came to see what 
was wanted, he told him to go and tell his master, 
that Naaman, the great captain of the king of Syria, 
was there ; and that he wanted him to cure him of 
his leprosy. 

Naaman thought, that as soon as the prophet heard 
what a great man was waiting at his door, he would 
come out in a moment, and call upon his God, and 
wave his hand over the place where the leprosy was, 
and heal him at once. But Elisha didn't care at all 
for the man's greatness. He saw what a proud man 
he was ; and resolved to try and humble him. And 
so, instead of coming out to see him, he merely sent 
his servant, and said: "Tell him to go down to the 
river Jordan, and wash himself seven times in the 
water of that river, and his leprosy will be healed." 



348 BIBLE MODELS. 

This made Naaman very angry. He was turning 
away, to go back home, in a great rage. But his ser- 
vants came and talked with him. They said : " Master, 
if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, 
would you not have done it ? And if by simply wash- 
ing in Jordan, your leprosy can be cured, had you not 
better do it?" He listened to them. He went. He 
washed, and in a moment he was made well. Then 
his heart was full of gratitude, and he drove back as 
fast as he could go, to thank the prophet, for the great 
good he had done him. 

Why, all the doctors in the world could not have 
cured Naaman's leprosy. And when Elisha did it so 
simply, and so quickly, he proved himself — a powerful 
helper. 

On another occasion, during the life of Elisha, three 
kings — the king of Israel, of Judah and of Edom, raised 
a great army, and went to fight the king of Moab. 
They had to march through a desert country. Their 
supply of water failed them. They were in danger 
of perishing from thirst. Elisha had gone with them. 
The kings called on him for help. He prayed to God. 
Then he told the kings to dig great trenches, all round 
about where their army was encamped, and that on 
the next morning, God would fill these trenches with 
water. The soldiers were all set to work. Great 
trenches were dug all about their camp. And, by 
sun-rise the next morning, the water came. The 
trenches were filled. The army was saved, and a 
great victory was gained over their enemies. Here 
we see what a powerful helper Elisha was. 

We cannot expect to work miracles, as Elisha did ; 



ELISHA, THE MODEL HELPER. 349 

but, if we have God's almighty arm, to lean on, this 
will be sure to make us — powerful helpers. Let us 
look at some illustrations of the different ways in which 
this may be done. 

Willie s Prayer. A little boy, about five years old, 
whose name was Willie, used to be very fond of having 
his mother sit down by his bedside, and talk to him 
before he went to sleep at night. 

One night, just after he was in bed, she said to 
him: "Willie, dear, mamma is too sick to talk to you, 
to-night." 

"Ma," said the little fellow, "God can make you 
well, can't He ? Shall I ask him ?" 

"Yes, darling," said his mother. 

Then the little fellow started up in the cold room, 
and kneeling down on the bed-clothes, folded his tiny 
hands together, and prayed thus : 

"Oh, good heavenly Father, please to make dear 
mother well by morning, for Jesus' sake, Amen." 

Then he crept back into his bed, and in a few 
moments he was fast asleep. 

Next morning he woke, with the earliest light, and 
turning to his mother asked: 

"Are you quite well this morning, mamma?" 

"Yes, darling, I feel very well indeed this morning." 

"Oh! I knew you would," said Willie, clapping his 
hands for joy. "I knew you would, for I prayed to 
God to make you well, and Jesus always hears little 
children when they pray." Willie was a little fellow, 
but he took hold of God's arm by prayer, and that 
made him a powerful helper. 

A Little Girl, and her Bible. Some time agp, a 



350 BIBLE MODELS. 

crowded train of cars was going from Boston to Spring- 
field. In one of the cars was a lady with her little 
girl, about eight or nine years old. She was a good 
child, and was trying to love and serve the blessed 
Saviour. She had in her hand a Bible, which had been 
given her as a Christmas present, and which she was 
very fond of. 

Not far from them, was a company of young men, 
who had just been recruited for the United States 
army. They were talking very loudly, and swearing 
dreadfully. One of them, in particular, who seemed 
to be their leader, swore worse than all the rest. The 
mother of the little girl was greatly distressed by those 
horrible oaths. She looked around to see if she could 
get a seat in another part of the car; but every seat 
was occupied. She knew not what to do. Presently, 
her little daughter whispered to her mother, "Let me 
go and give them my Bible." 

The dear child, stepped timidly out from her seat, 
and going up to the young man, who had been the 
loudest swearer, she presented him with her Bible. 
She was a little, delicate-looking creature, and as she 
laid the book in his hands, she did not say a word, but 
she looked right into his face, in an earnest way, which 
seemed to say: "Oh, sir, please don't swear any 
more !" And then she went back to her seat. 

Now, if an angel from heaven had come, and spoken 
to those young men, it could hardly have had a greater 
effect upon them. They quieted down at once. Their 
loud talking ceased. They stopped their swearing. 
Not another oath was heard through that journey. 

The young man, who had received the book, seemed 



ELISHA, THE MODEL HELPER. 35 1 

particularly touched. The first time the train stopped, 
he got out and bought a paper of candy. He came 
and gave it to the little girl. Then he stooped down 
and kissed her, and said : "I thank you, my dear child, 
for your Bible. I'll keep it, and read it every day ; 
and when I do so, I'll always think of you." 

Now, what a powerful helper that little girl was ! 
How much good she did by that one simple act ! 

I will 'close now, with a very nice story. We may 
call it — 

The Cabin Boy Hero. Charley Wagner — the hero 
of this story — lived in the town of Plymouth, England. 
His mother was a widow, and Charley was her only 
child. He had a great desire to go to sea, but his 
mother was not willing to have him go. They often 
talked about it ; but she told him one day, not to say 
anything more on the subject, till he had finished his 
schooling. Charley agreed. And though he often 
thought about it, he never mentioned it again, but 
went diligently on with his school duties. His mother 
tried to comfort herself with the hope that he had 
given up the idea of going to sea. But it was not so. 

At length the time came when he got through with 
going- to school. Then he said: "Now, mother, can't 
I go to sea?" "My dear boy," she said, "how can 
you think of going away, and leaving me all alone ? 
What shall I do without you ? It will break my heart, 
Charley, to have you go." And then she burst into 
tears. 

"Well, don't cry, mother, and I'll think about it." 

Then he kissed his mother, and went to take a walk, 
and make up his mind what to do. He got out into 



352 BIBLE MODELS. 

the country, and sat down under a tree, to think it 
all over. 

"I never shall be happy," said he to himself, "unless 
I do go to sea ; but mother will never be happy if I 
go. Oh, dear me, what shall I do?" He lifted up his 
heart in prayer, and asked God to guide him in the 
right way. It was a great struggle for Charley. But 
at last, he said to himself: "Well, I can't expect God 
to bless me, unless I honor and obey my mother. 
Then I'll give it up." That was a noble triumph for 
Charley. He gained a great victory over himself that 
day. And that, is the noblest of all victories. He 
went home, and said : " Mother, I have given up the 
thought of going to sea, and I'll go into uncle John's 
store to-morrow, as you wish me to do." 

His mother was greatly delighted. She kissed him, 
and said: "Thank you, my dear boy, and I am sure 
that God will bless you for this." 

So Charley went into his uncle's store, and became 
a clerk there. He was diligent, and industrious, and 
worked hard every day. But he never could get 
over his longing for the sea. Plymouth is a seaport 
town, and the docks there are always full of. vessels 
loading, and unloading. Charley often used to get 
up in the morning, a good while before breakfast, and 
walk down to the docks for exercise, and to see the 
ships. 

One morning he. was there very early. The men 
were not at work yet. There was a vessel, lying a 
little distance from the wharf, with a plank leading up 
to it. He saw a little boy coming down the plank, to 
play on the wharf. Charley was walking on, when 



ELISHA, THE MODEL HELPER. 353 

suddenly he heard a splash. The little fellow had 
fallen overboard. In a moment Charley threw off" his 
coat and shoes, and plunged in after him. He was a 
good swimmer. He caught the child, and came up to 
the surface of the water with him. The sailors threw 
him a rope, and they were both drawn out of the 
water. 

Now, it happened that this little boy, was the son 
of the captain of that ship — his only child — and he 
was very fond of him. He thanked Charley very 
heartily, for saving his child's life. Then he said : 
4< Come into the cabin, my brave boy, and I'll give you 
some other clothes to put on, while yours get dried." 
The captain's name was Marshall. He had a long 
talk with Charley, while his clothes were getting dried. 
In the course of his talk, he found out all about 
Charley's desire to go to sea. As soon as he could 
spare time, he went to see Charley's mother, and had 
a long talk with her about him. He begged her to 
let Charley go to sea with him. " I'd like to have him, 
as my cabin-boy, and I'll take the greatest care of him. 
And, as my own little boy's mother is dead, I will leave 
him in Charley's place, Mrs. Wagner, and will pay you 
well for taking care of him." His mother, finally con- 
sented, and to Charley's great delight, he was shipped, 
as a cabin-boy on board of Captain Marshall's vessel. 

This happened at a time when there was war be- 
tween England and France. The French had men-of- 
war all over the sea, on purpose to seize the English 
merchant vessels, as prizes. Of course it was not safe 
then, for single merchant vessels to go to sea. So 
they used to go out in companies of four or five, and 

23 



354 BIBLE MODELS. 

the Government would send a man-of-war along with 
them to protect them. Four other vessels went to sea 
with Captain Marshall's ship, and an English man-of- 
war went along for their protection. 

They had only been about two days out at sea, when 
they saw a fleet of French men-of-war, come sailing 
towards them. The captain of the English man-of-war 
saw in a moment, that it would be impossible for him to 
protect the vessels under his charge, from this French 
fleet. So he ordered the captains of the vessels to 
separate, and each to go off in a different direction, 
and try to get away from the Frenchmen. They did 
so. Captain Marshall's ship was a very fast sailer. 
He put on all sail, and hoped he might be able to get 
out of reach of the French man-of-war. But after 
awhile, he saw that one of the French ships was 
coming after him. She was a fast sailer too. She 
gained on him in spite of all his efforts. Pretty soon 
she came near enough to fire a shot across his bows. 
This was to tell him to stop. He had to do it. The 
Frenchman came up alongside of him. They threw 
out their grappling-irons, to bind the two ships to- 
gether, so that they could go from one vessel to the 
other, without having to use their boats. There was 
very little discipline on board the French men-of-war, 
at that time. The sailors did pretty much as they 
pleased. So, as soon as the two vessels were fastened 
together, nearly all the French sailors hastened on 
board the English ship, and went below to help them- 
selves to whatever they could find. 

Just then, a bright idea came into Charley Wagner's 
mind. He called the crew of Captain Marshall's ship 



ELISHA, THE MODEL HELPER. 355 

around him, and told them what he wanted to do. The 
men were delighted. They said : " Charley's our cap- 
tain. Give us a signal when you are ready, by throwing 
up your cap, and we'll do whatever you tell us." Pres- 
ently up went Charley's cap — and he went on board the 
French man-of-war, with all the crew of Captain Mar- 
shall's ship. They made prisoners of the few French- 
men on board. Then they took off the grappling-irons, 
and got away from the English ship. In the meantime 
the French officers and men began to come up on 
deck ; and what was their surprise to find that the Eng- 
lish sailors had got possession of their man-of-war, 
and they were left prisoners on board of an English 
merchantman. Oh, how angry they were ! How they 
swore, and gnashed their teeth with rage ! But there 
was no help for it. Then Charley got a speaking- 
trumpet, and standing on the quarter-deck, he called 
out to the French officers and crew: "Throw over- 
board all your swords, and pistols, and guns, or we'll 
blow you out of the water." There was nothing else 
for them to do ; so overboard went all the arms the 
Frenchmen had. Then he sent two boats to bring 
Captain Marshall, to take command of the French 
man-of-war, and twenty sailors, to help manage the 
vessel. They came. Charley felt proud when he 
handed the command of the French man-of-war, over 
to his good friend Captain Marshall. And Captain 
Marshall felt glad that he had taken Charley to sea 
with him. Then the captain gave orders to put the 
vessels about, and return to England. They soon 
arrived there, and entered the harbor of Plymouth — 
a great French man-of-war, the prize of an English 



356 BIBLE MODELS. 

merchantman ! And this, too, brought about by a brave 
cabin-boy — and that, on his first voyage to sea ! Such 
a thing- had never been known before in English his- 
tory. All England rang with the praises of the cabin- 
boy. Don't you think Charley's mother was glad that 
she let him go to sea? I rather think she was. After 
this Charley was made a midshipman in the English 
navy. He did well there; and rose higher, and higher, 
till at last he became an admiral. The king knighted 
him, and he was well known in the English navy as — 
Admiral, Sir Charles Wagner. That was glorious. 
Charley proved himself a powerful helper. And this 
all came, through God's blessing upon him, for gaining 
the victory over himself first, and for honoring and 
obeying his mother. 

Now, we have Elisha as the model helper ; and we 
have spoken of four points in this model. He was 
first — a ready helper ; second — a kind helper ; third — 
a useful helper ; and fourth — a powerful helper. Let 
us all ask God to give us grace to follow his example ; 
and then our lives will be spent for the good of those 
around us, and for the glory of God. 



EBED-MELECH, THE MODEL OF 
KINDNESS. 



Ebed-ntelech? — Jeremiah xxxviii : 




^?EDEKIAH, the king of Israel, had a ser- 
vant, who was an Ethiopian, or a col- 
ored man. The time here referred to 
was one of great trouble in Israel. 
The king of Babylon had invaded their 
country, and was now besieging the city of Jeru- 
salem. God had sent the prophet Jeremiah with 
a message to the king and princes of Israel. He 
told them that God wished them to give up their 
city to the king of Babylon. But they would not 
listen to what the prophet said. The princes were 
very angry with Jeremiah, for the message which 
he brought them from God. They took him pris- 
oner, and put him down in a deep, dark dungeon, 
where there was no one to attend to him, or give 
him anything to eat, and where he sank in the deep 
mire. No one took any notice of poor Jeremiah, but 
this good servant of the king — Ebed-melech. He 
felt very sorry for him ; and kindly made up his mind 
that he would try and get him out of the dungeon. 

357 



358 BIBLE MODELS. 

He went and spoke to the king about it. He told him 
that the prophet would surely die, if he were left in 
the mire of that dark, and dreadful dungeon. This 
dungeon was under ground. There was no door to 
it. The only way of getting in and out of it, was 
through an opening in the top, like those we see in 
our coal vaults. 

The king told Ebed-melech to take some men with 
him, and a strong rope, and go, and lift Jeremiah out 
of the dungeon. He did as the king told him ; and 
so the life of Jeremiah — the prophet of the Lord — was 
saved through the kindness of this humble servant of 
the king — Ebed-melech. He was the only one, among 
all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who showed any kind- 
ness to Jeremiah in his time of trouble. And so I 
wish now to speak of Ebed-melech, as the model of 
kindness. 

This is a good model for us all to study, because we 
can all show kindness to those about us, if we only 
try. And I wish to speak of three reasons, why we 
should try to imitate this model of kindness. 

We should do so, in the first place, because it is — 
easy — to shoiu kindness. 

Some things are very hard to do. We know, for 
how many years, the Government of England, of our 
own country, and of other nations, have been trying 
to find the way to the North pole. How much money 
has been spent, and how many valuable lives have 
been lost, in these attempts ! And yet they have never 
succeeded. Getting to the North pole is a very hard 
thing to do. Some things can only be done by those 
who have plenty of money. When a railroad has to 




JEREMIAH TELLS THE KING TO GIVE UP JERUSALEM. 



36O BIBLE MODELS. 

be built, across a great country like ours, millions of 
money are needed for it : and nothing can be done 
without it. But, it is very different with the work of 
showing kindness. There is nothing hard about this. 
We do not need much money to do it. The poor can 
show kindness, as well as the rich. Ebed-melech had 
not much money. He was a poor colored man — the 
servant, or slave of king Zedekiah ; and yet he man- 
aged to show real kindness to the prophet Jeremiah. 
He was the means of saving his life. 

And if we learn, while we are young, to show kind- 
ness to those who are in trouble, we shall find that it 
is an easy thing to do. 

Let us look at some examples of the easy way in 
which we may show kindness. 

Helping and Thanking. It happened one day, that 
an old Scotchman was taking his grist to the mill. It 
was in sacks, which were thrown across the back of 
the horse. In oroinof alone the horse stumbled, and 
the sacks of grain fell to the ground. The old man 
had not strength enough to lift the sacks up, and put 
them on the horse's back again. He looked around 
to see if there was one near to help him. Presently 
he saw a person on horseback, coming along the road ; 
and he thought he would ask him for help. But the 
horseman proved to be a nobleman, who lived in the 
great castle near by, and the old man thought it never 
would do to ask such a favor of him. But that noble- 
man was a gentleman. He had learned to practice this 
point of the model we are considering. He knew how 
easy it was to show kindness. And so, without wait- 
ing- to be asked, when he saw the old man's trouble, 



EBED-MELECH, THE MODEL OF KINDNESS. 36 1 

he instantly got off his horse, and came and helped 
the farmer, whose name was John, to lift his sacks of 
orain, on to the horse's back ao-ain. When this was 
done, John — for he was a gentleman too — took off his 
cap, and making a respectful bow, said: "My lord, 
how shall I ever thank you, for your very great kind- 
ness?" 

"Verily easily, John," replied the nobleman. "When- 
ever you see any one in trouble, as you were just 
now, help him out of it, and that will be the best way 
of thanking me." 

We ought to practice this point of the model before 
us, because it is easy to show kindness. 

A Woman s Love. A murderer sat in his cell in the 
jail, repeating over and over again to himself the sen- 
tence pronounced by the judge : 

"You are to be hanged by the neck till you are 
dead, dead, dead — and may God have mercy on your 
soul!" 

But there were no tears in the prisoner's eyes, and 
no penitence in his heart. His dark face grew blacker, 
and his wicked heart became harder still, as he went 
on repeating those dreadful words, and cursing both 
God and man. 

Ministers had come to him, with gospel messages 
of divine mercy; but he spurned their words, and told 
them to come no more into his presence. "Why, 
man," said one of them, "you are condemned to die; 
and in a few weeks, you will be launched into eternity, 
and how can you stand before God, with all your sins 
unpardoned ?" 

"That's my business," was his answer; "I wish no 



362 BIBLE MODELS. 

further conversation with any of you." And he waved 
his hand impatiently for them to depart. 

A report of this interview was published in the 
papers the next day. Among those who read it was 
a timid, delicate Christian woman. As she read the 
report, the tears dropped on the paper, and the earn- 
est desire came into her heart to tell the poor con- 
demned man, that she was sorry for him. But she 
said to herself : "I can't do it. I never was in a jail 
in my life ; and I wouldn't know what to say. And 
then I should be sure to cry. Oh, I wish I could go 
and speak a few kind words to him, without weeping!" 

This desire grew stronger in her every day; and 
one morning she gathered a beautiful bouquet of 
flowers, from her garden, and went to the jail. The 
jailor admitted her to the prison. Then he threw 
open a window, through which, without entering, per- 
sons could converse with the prisoner ; and calling 
him by name said : "Here is a lady who wishes to see 
you." But as soon as she found herself standing, 
face to face, with the hard-featured, gloomy-looking 
murderer, the good woman's courage and voice 
entirely failed her. She could not utter a single word; 
but handing the poor prisoner the bouquet, she burst 
into tears. 

The sight of the flowers, and the weeping woman, 
had a strange effect on the prisoner. It brought fresh 
to his memory scenes long passed. It called up the 
picture of a dear home across the sea, and of a fond 
Christian mother, who wept over him at parting. His 
hard heart was touched and softened. And while the 
woman wept outside the cell, he cried, with a great, 



EBED-MELECH, THE MODEL OF KINDNESS. 363 

deep, bitter cry, as the tears flowed down his face : "God 
be merciful to me a sinner." God heard his cry, and 
visited the heart of the prisoner, with pardon and 
peace. That good woman's kindness and tears had 
melted his hard heart, and he was led like a little child 
to Christ. How easy she found it to show kind- 
ness to that poor man ! And how much good it did 
to him ! 

I have one other illustration of .this point of our 
subject. We may call it — 

The Baby s Sermon. Three children in a certain 
family, had been up in their mother's room, after 
breakfast one morning, learning their text for the day. 
They had learned it perfectly, and were coming down 
stairs for a play in the garden, when Nannie and 
Frank, the two elder children, fell to quarreling. The 
cause of the quarrel was, which of them should carry 
the great rubber ball down stairs. Nannie wanted it, 
because she had first thought of it ; and Frank wanted 
it, because he was the oldest. 

"You're a mean, selfish boy," said Nannie. 

"You're a naughty girl," said Frank. 

"I'll just tell papa what a horrid boy you are," said 
Nannie. 

"And I'll tell mamma I wish she would sell you to 
somebody. I don't want such a sister," answered 
Frank. 

"I don't love you one single bit," said Nannie. 

"And who wants you to?" asked Frank. 

And so these naughty children went on, from bad 
to worse, saying all sorts of unkind, unpleasant things 
to each other. 



364 BIBLE MODELS. 

While this was going on, their little brother, "Baby 
Ben," as he was called, was coming down stairs be- 
hind them. . Slowly he came, one foot at a time, hold- 
ing on to the banister, with his little fat hands. As 
he listened to the angry words, he looked greatly sur- 
prised, and his big blue eyes opened wider and wider. 
The children stopped to finish their quarrel, at the 
foot of the stairs. Frank was trying hard to get the 
ball away from Nannie, and she had hold of his hair, 
and was pulling it, as hard as she could, when Baby 
Ben stopped on the lowest step, and preached his little 
sermon to them. 

"Ickle children," said he, " lub one anudder." That 
was all he said. It was the text they had just been 
learning in their mother's room. It had a strange 
effect on those naughty children. For a moment 
nobody said anything. Then Nannie dropped her 
hands. Her face flushed, and holding out the ball — 

"Here, Frank," she said, "you can have it. I'm 
going to be good." 

"So am I," said Frank. "You shall have the first 
toss, Nannie. I'm awful sorry I was so cross." And 
so they went off, hand in hand, to have a good time 
in the garden ; while the baby curled himself up in 
papa's big chair, in the study; and there the nurse 
found him, fast asleep, with his thumb in his mouth. 

Now, it was an easy thing for little "Baby Ben" to 
repeat that text, and you see what a good effect his 
kindness in repeating it, had upon his brother and 
sister. He was beginning early to learn the lesson 
of kindness. 

Ebed-melech was the model of kindness ; and the 



EBED-MELECH, THE MODEL OF KINDNESS. 365 

first reason why we should try to imitate this model, 
and learn this lesson is, that kindness is easy. 

The second reaso7i why we should try to imitate this 
model, and learn this lesson is, that kindness is — useful. 

Ebed-melech's kindness was useful to Jeremiah, be- 
cause it saved his life. He lived for years after this, 
and was the means of doing a great deal of good to 
the people of Israel, who were living then. If we 
knew more of the particulars of his history, it would 
be easy for us to point out the usefulness of his saved 
life. As the prophet of the Lord, his business was to 
make known God's will to the people of Israel. And 
all the good he did, in this way, through the remaining 
years of his saved life, was the result of Ebed-melech's 
kindness. 

But then Jeremiah has been useful to the church of 
God, ever since that day, by the prophecies which he 
wrote. And a large portion of those prophecies was 
written after the day in which Ebed-melech saved his 
life. And this shows us how great the usefulness was 
of Ebed-melech's kindness. 

And in learning to show kindness to others, there 
is no telling how much good we may do. And when 
we think how useful our kindness may be, we see a 
good reason why we should try to learn the lesson of 
which we are now speaking. 

Let us look at some illustrations of the usefulness 
of showing kindness. 

Betsey Brown — or, The Power of Kindness. A good 
minister of the gospel, whose name was Wortley, was 
settled in a New England village. He tried to do good 
to all the people with whom he became acquainted. 



366 BIBLE MODELS. 

But, there was one person in his neighborhood, whom 
he desired very much to bring under the influence of 
the Gospel ; yet he found it impossible to get near her. 
Her name was Betsey Brown. She was a wicked, 
swearing woman, who kept a drinking saloon, and a 
gambling- table, and who would knock a man down in 
her bar-room, if he said anything she disliked. But all 
this only made Mr. Wortley feel more anxious to do 
her good. He thought about her constantly, he prayed 
earnestly that God would open some way for him to 
reach this poor woman. He not only prayed for her 
himself, but he asked many of the members of his 
church to unite with him in praying for her conversion. 

One day Betsey fell down, and sprained her knee 
very badly. She suffered greatly from this sprain. It 
confined her to her chair ; she could not walk a step, 
and for the first time in her life, she was unable to help 
herself. This was a terrible blow to that active woman. 
She fretted and fumed like a chained tiger. No friend 
or relative lived with her. Her temper was so cross, 
and disagreeable, that she could get no one to nurse 
her. A poor woman in the neighborhood, who was 
fond of Betsey's liquors, would occasionally come in 
and do little jobs for her. 

And now the good minister, Mr. Wortley, thought 
that this would be the time for him to call. So one 
day, as Betsey sat alone, and uncared for, there was a 
knock at her door. She was so softened by hunger 
and pain, that, without asking, "Who's there?" she 
said — " Come in !" 

To her great surprise, in walked the minister. He 
kindly expressed his sympathy with her, in her misfor- 



EBED-MELECH, THE MODEL OF KINDNESS. 367 

tune, and asked if there was anything he could do for 
her. 

"I don't suppose you can do anything, except read 
the Bible and pray," said Betsey sharply; "but there 
hasn't been a soul near me to-day, and I'm starving." 

The minister knew what to do. He began by start- 
ing a fire, and making her a cup of tea. Betsey was 
dumb with surprise, and then her hard heart began to 
soften. When Mr. Wortley brought to her the meal 
he had prepared, he found her crying like a child. 

"To think that you should do this for such a wicked 
woman as I be!" she sobbed out. 

God had graciously touched her heart. She was 
led to see her sins, and to repent of them. She lis- 
tened as for her life, while the good minister talked 
to her of Jesus. This was the first of many long 
talks, which ended in her becoming a Christian. And 
what a change that made in Betsey Brown ! She was 
indeed "a new creature in Christ." And it seemed 
as if she could not do enough, to make up for her 
former wickedness. There was no more liquor-selling, 
or gambling in her house. And, the same room, where 
dreadful oaths, and curses, and wicked songs, used to 
be heard, resounded now with the voice of prayer and 
praise. She became an active missionary in the vil- 
lage, and was the means of doing good to some whom 
no one else could reach. And all the good thus 
brought about, was the result of the kindness showed 
by Mr. Wortley, when he went to visit her in her 
trouble. Surely that kindness was very useful. 

Here is a story which illustrates this point of our 
subject very well. We may call it — 



368 BIBLE MODELS. 

The Deacon s Singing School. A deacon, connected 
with a church in a New England village, was getting 
ready to go out one very cold winter night. As he 
stood buttoning up his overcoat, and putting the 
mufflers over his ears, his wife said : "Where are you 
going, husband ?" 

"I have heard of a poor widow woman, two or three 
squares off, who is in great suffering. She has five 
little children, two of them are sick, and they have 
neither fire nor food. I thought I would step around 
and look into the case. Perhaps I can start a singing 
school there." 

"Go, by all means," said his wife, "and lose no time. 
If they are in such need we can give them some relief. 
And let me know what I can do to help. But it's non- 
sense for you to talk about starting a singing school. 
You know nothing about music. You never raised a 
tune in your life." 

While she was talking away her husband had gone 
out into the piercing cold of that wintry night. When 
he was gone, she sat down in front of the great blazing 
wood fire, and busied herself in mending a pile of the 
children's clothes. Very busily and quietly she worked 
away. But, all the time, she was puzzling herself, by 
thinking what her husband could have meant, by start- 
ing a singing school in the home of that poor widow ! 
It was so queer ! What could he mean by it ? 

At last she grew tired of the subject, and said : 
"Well, I won't bother myself about it any more. He'll 
tell me what he means, when he comes home. I only 
hope we may be able to help the poor widow, and 
make her sad 'heart sing for joy.'" And then she 



EBED-MELECH, THE MODEL OF KINDNESS. 369 

started, and said to herself: "There, can that be what 
he meant? the widow's heart made to sing for joy ! 
Wouldn't that be a singing school ? It must be so. 
It's just like John. He might well take up the lan- 
guage of the patriarch Job, and apply it to himself, 
when he said : 'The blessing of him that was ready to 
perish came upon me, and I caused the widow's heart 
to sing for joy.' How strange it is that I should have 
found out John's meaning, by just quoting those words 
of Job!" 

And then she went on with her work, feeling very 
happy. Presently she heard her husband's footsteps. 
She sprang up and opened the door, exclaiming, as 
she did so : 

"Well, John, and did you start the singing school?" 

"I reckon I did," was his reply, as soon as he could 
take off his wrappings ; "but I want you to hunt up 
some flannels and things to help keep it up." 

"Oh, yes ! I will ; I know what you mean. I have 
thought it all out; making 'the widow's heart sing for 
joy' is your singing school. What a precious work 
it is, John. My own heart has been singing for 
joy, all the evening, because of your work ; but I 
do not mean to let you do it all alone. I want to 
help you in drawing out some of this wonderful 
music." 

How useful the kindness of that good deacon was, 
to that poor widow, and her suffering children ! And 
this is a kind of work in which we may all engage. 
We may start singing schools of this sort, without 
knowing anything about music. And in this way, we 
may make ourselves very useful. I will finish this 



370 BIBLE MODELS. 

part of our subject, by quoting some simple lines. 
They are headed — 

A CHILD MAY BE USEFUL. 
"I may, if I have but a mind, 
Do good in many ways ; 
Plenty to do the young may find, 

In these our busy days ; 
Sad would it be, though young and small, 
If I were of no use at all. 

"One gentle word that I may speak, 

Or one kind, loving deed, 
May, though a trifle poor and weak, 

Prove like a tiny seed ; 
And who can tell what good may spring 
From such a very little thing ! 

"Then let me try each day and hour, 

To act upon this plan ; 
What little good is in my power, 

To do it while I can. 
If to be useful thus I try, 
I may do better by-and-by." 

But there is a third reason why we should try to 
imitate the model Ebed-melech has set tis, or learn to 
shoiv fondness, and that is because kindness is — profit- 
able. 

We see this in the case of Ebed-melech himself. 
His kindness to the prophet Jeremiah, in taking him 
out of that terrible dungeon, where he had sunk in 
the deep mire, was the means of saving his own life. 
That was the reward of his own kindness. 

God sent word to Ebed-melech, by the prophet Jere- 
miah, that when the city of Jerusalem should be taken 
by the Assyrians, He would put it into their hearts to 




JERUSALEM TAKEN BY THE ASSYRIANS 



372 BIBLE MODELS. 

show kindness to him by sparing' his life. And so it 
came to pass. The princes, and nobles, and great 
men of the nation, were all put to death. The king 
had his sons killed before his face. Then his eyes 
were put out, and he was carried captive to Babylon. 
And to the day of his death, he never could forget 
the last sad sight, that he witnessed, before his eyes 
were put out. It was the mangled, and bleeding 
bodies of his dead sons. How sad, and sorrowful a 
recollection this must have been to him ! 

But Ebed-melech had his life given to him as a re- 
ward for the kindness which he showed to the prophet 
Jeremiah. Surely he found out that it was profitable 
to be kind. And it is very easy for us to find illustra- 
tions of the same sort. Let us look at some of these. 
Here is one that we may call — 

The Beggar Boy and the Flowers. A little boy was 
standing near the gate, in his father's garden. On the 
outside of the gate was a ragged little fellow, looking 
through the railing at the beautiful flowers that were 
blooming there. 

"Go away, you beggar boy!" said the boy in the 
garden. "You've no business to be looking at our 
flowers." 

The poor boy's face reddened with anger, to be 
spoken to so rudely, and he was about to answer in 
the same style, when a bright young girl, sprang out 
from an arbor near, and looking at her brother, said : 
"How could you speak so roughly, Herbert? I'm 
sure his looking at the flowers won't hurt them." And 
then turning to the boy outside the gate, in the kindest 
possible way, she said : 



EBED-MELECH, THE MODEL OF KINDNESS. T,7 3 

"Little boy, I'll pick you some flowers, if you'll wait 
a moment." Then she gathered a beautiful bouquet, 
and handed it to him through the iron grating in the 
gate. He thanked her heartily, and turned away, with 
his face all lighted up with surprise and pleasure. 

Twelve years pass away. That young girl has 
grown up to be a woman, and is married. One sum- 
mer afternoon, she was walking with her husband in 
the garden, when she saw a young man, in a work- 
man's dress, leaning over the fence, and looking 
earnestly at her and the flowers. She said to him : 
"Are you fond of flowers, sir? It will give me great 
pleasure to gather some for you." 

The young man looked at her fair face, and then 
said : "Twelve years ago, I stood here, a ragged boy, 
and you showed me the same kindness that you are 
showing me now. Your sweet flowers, and your kind 
words, made a new boy of me ; yes, and they made a 
new man of me, too. Your bright face has been a 
light and comfort to me, in many a dark hour ; and 
now, thank God, though that boy is still only an 
humble, hard-working man, yet he is an honest, grate- 
ful, God-fearing man, and he owes it all, through God's 
blessing, to your kindness." 

Tears stood in that lady's eyes, as she heard these 
words ; and turning to her husband, she said : " God 
put it into my heart to do that little kindness, and see 
how great a reward it has brought !" Certainly this 
shows that kindness is profitable. 

Here is another illustration. We may call it — 

Kindness Rewarded. Some years ago, as the mail- 
train, on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, in charge 



374 BIBLE MODELS. 

of the late Captain George A, Rawlings, conductor, 
was approaching Doe Gully tunnel, the engine struck 
and killed a cow belonging to a poor woman, the 
widow of a watchman on that part of the road, who 
had lost his life in the service of the company. 

The accident soon brought to the spot, a number of 
people, living in that neighborhood. Among these 
were the widow of the watchman, and her five little 
children. They were crying most piteously over their 
loss. 

Rawlings, the conductor, had a heart full of tender- 
ness, and he went to work, at once, to take up a col- 
lection. The passengers, and the men of the train, 
gave very gladly, and soon he had collected over 
seventy dollars, which he handed over to the widow, 
that she might buy a new cow. 

With tears in her eyes, she said : 

" Thank you ! thank you, sir, a thousand times ! I 
shall never forget your kindness to the poor widow 
and her children ; and I feel sure it will come back to 
you some day or other." 

Time rolled on, and the incident was almost for- 
gotten, when one night, Rawlings left Cumberland on 
his east-bound trip, in a terrible rain-storm. After 
passing through Doe Gully tunnel, he saw a fire 
blazing on the track, some distance before him. He 
knew that this was a sign of danger, and gave the 
signal to put on the brakes and stop the train. 

As soon as possible, the train was stopped, just a 
little distance from where an immense landslide 
covered the track. It lay like a young mountain, all 
over the road. Near the fire stood the widow, for 



EBED-MELECH, THE MODEL OF KINDNESS. 375 

whom conductor Rawlings had raised the subscription, 
so long before, when her cow was killed. She held 
a blazing pine knot in her hand, which she was waving 
about, as she shouted: "Where's the conductor? 
Where's the conductor?" 

Presently Rawlings appeared. She went up to him 
and said : "I told you, Mr. Rawlings, I would never 
forget your kindness, to the poor lone widow, and her 
children. I heard the fall of the rocks and earth across 
the track. I knew you were coming ; that in the dark- 
ness of night you could not see what had taken place, 
and that your train would be dashed in pieces, and 
many lives be lost. So I went out in the storm and 
started the fire, that you might see it in time to save 
the train. God bless the man who was kind to the 
poor widow, and her children, when they were in 
trouble." 

Now, certainly, conductor Rawlings understood that 
day, how profitable to him was the kindness he had 
showed to the poor widow so long before ! 

I have just one other illustration to give, under this 
point of our subject. We may call it — 

How God Works. This story is about a certain 
king, whose name was Rhoud. He lived in the north 
of Europe, some centuries ago. At the time to which 
our story refers, there was great trouble in his king- 
dom. There were many enemies of the king, who 
were plotting to take away his life. 

One day, the king was taking a walk through the 
woods. A prince, whose name was Regan, was his 
companion. They were talking about the troubles 
in the kingdom. As they were going on, through the 



376 BIBLE MODELS. 

beautiful woods, they heard something scream pitifully 
in one of the trees. 

"It is a bird up yonder tree," said the king; "it 
screams because it is in some trouble." 

"Let it scream," said Prince Regan. "Just now we 
have more important things to think about, than a 
little bird up a tree." 

"The nearest duty first," said the king. "There is 
nothing more important now, than to show kindness 
to that little creature in its distress. Regan, I must 
climb up that tree." 

"But suppose you should fall and be killed, what a 
shame it would be, to have it said that our king lost 
his life for the sake of a little bird !" 

"Many a life has been lost for less," replied the 
king, as he prepared to mount the tree. By the 
prince's help he managed to get hold of the lower 
branches. Then he went slowly up, higher and higher, 
till finally he came to where the bird was. It was a 
pretty little goldfinch, which had caught its leg in a 
crack of one of the branches of the tree, and could 
not get it loosened. The king took it carefully out, 
and came down safely, with the little goldfinch in his 
hand. He stroked its feathers tenderly, saying as he 
did so: "It shall be my adopted child, and the play- 
mate of my little daughter Agnar." 

He took the bird home, and had a beautiful cage 
made for it. "How childish the king is!" said one of 
his officers. "When war is at the door, and he is 
surrounded by great dangers, he finds time to save a 
little bird, and takes care of it himself." 

In the meantime, his enemies were still plotting 



EBED-MELECH, THE MODEL OF KINDNESS. 2)77 

against him. Two of the servants in the king's palace, 
had been bribed to help them, in carrying out their 
plans. 

One day, when the king was out hunting with his 
men, his enemies made an arrangement by which they 
hoped to secure the. death of the king, during the fol- 
lowing night. Their plan was this : in the ceiling of 
the king's bed-chamber, and directly over the bed on 
which he slept, was a very heavy beam of timber. 
This was loosened, and yet held in its place in such a 
way, that whenever they desired, it could be made to 
fall across the king's 'bed, and so crush him to death. 
Then they thought, it would be supposed that the 
king had met his death by accident. People would 
say that the ceiling over the king's bed was weak, and 
had fallen during the night. 

The king returned from his hunting 'late at night. 
He went to bed weary, and soon fell asleep, and prob- 
ably would never have risen again, had not the little 
bird suddenly awakened him by its screaming. He 
sprang from his bed, to see what was the matter. 
He soon found that he had forgotten that morning, 
before going a hunting, to give the little creature any 
water to drink, or any food to eat ; and at evening, 
on his return, he was so tired that he went to bed 
without thinking of the bird. He took the cage in 
his hand, and said: "You dear little creature ! and did 
I save thy life only to let thee perish with hunger ?" 

Then he poured some water into the little glass, and 
put some seed in the little box in the cage. 

And while he was doing this, the beam fell from the 
ceiling- with tremendous noise, and striking the bed, 



3J8 BIBLE MODELS. 

crushed it flat to the floor. The noise was heard all 
over the palace. The soldiers, sleeping in the palace- 
yard awoke, and drew their swords. The frightened 
servants rushed into the king's chamber, with torches 
flaming in their trembling hands. As soon as they 
saw the ruins of the bed, they exclaimed: "The king 
is killed ! King Rhoud is crushed to pieces !" 

But on looking round, they saw the king standing 
unhurt, with the bird-cage in his hand. He smiled on 
them and exclaimed: "Do not fear, my friends; God 
has kept his hand over me." 

When Prince Regan heard of all this — how the beam 
had fallen, and how the little bird had saved the king's 
life — he was amazed beyond measure. Then fixing his 
tearful eyes on the king, he said: "How wonderfully 
God works ! I never again shall doubt that there is a 
Providence in' all things." The king answered with a 
smile, "Then you can see, Regan, that we should not 
despise little folks. If a king can save a bird, then the 
bird can save the king." Surely King Rhoud must 
have felt that his kindness to that little bird was profit- 
able to him ! It not only saved his life, but it led to 
the discovery and punishment of the wicked men who 
were plotting against him. 

Now let us remember the subject we have been con- 
sidering — Ebed-melech the model of kindness. And 
let us remember the three reasons why we should 
try to imitate this model, and to learn this lesson. 
The first reason is, because kindness is easy ; the 
second, because it is useful ; and the third, because 
it is profitable. May God give us all grace to learn, 
and practice this — easy — useful — and profitable lesson ! 



NEHEMIAH, THE MODEL MAN OF 
BUSINESS. 



I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come 
downy — Nehemiah vi : 3. 




EHEMIAH, a prince of Israel, spoke these 
words. He had been taken captive ; 
and when first we read of him in the 
Bible, he was acting as cup-bearer to 
the king of Persia, in his royal palace 
at Shushan. 

One day, some Jewish friends came to see him. 
They had lately returned from Jerusalem. Nehemiah 
asked them how they found things in that holy city. 
They told him that the walls of Jerusalem were all 
thrown down ; that the city was in ruins, and that the 
people there, were in great poverty and distress. This 
troubled him greatly, and made him feel very sad and 
sorrowful. 

Then he asked the king to let him go to Jerusalem, 
to get the walls built up, and the city recovered from 
its ruins. The king consented. He appointed Nehe- 
miah the governor of Jerusalem, and gave him letters 
to some of his officers in that region, to secure for 

379 



380 BIBLE MODELS. 

him the help he would need, in carrying on the great 
work he had undertaken. 

On arriving at Jerusalem, he found things there in 
a very sad state. But he called all the chief men of 
the Jewish people together, and engaged them to help 
him. Then they began at once, to rebuild the walls, 
and repair the ruins of the city. 

The enemies of the Jews tried to hinder them, in 
many ways. But in the midst of all the dangers and 
difficulties, that surrounded him, Nehemiah went on 
patiently, perseveringly, and bravely, till the walls 
were rebuilt, and Jerusalem was again in a safe and 
prosperous condition. He acted so wisely, and was 
so successful in his work, that in putting Nehemiah 
among our "Bible Models," we may well speak of 
him as — 

" The Model Man of Business" And this is a good 
model for us to study. For as we grow up to be 
men and women, we shall all have business of some 
kind to attend to ; and if we hope to be successful in 
that business, whatever it may be, we must set the 
best examples of business men before us, and try to 
imitate them. But I know of no better example in 
this matter, than we find in Nehemiah. He may well 
be called — "The.model man of business." 

And in studying this model, there are four good 
points for us to notice. 

/;/ the first place, as a business man, Nehemiah was 
a model of- — earnestness. 

We see this in him, when he used the words of our 
text, and said : " I am doing a great work, so that I 
cannot come down." 




NEHEMIAH ASKS THE KING TO LET HIM GO TO JERUSALEM. 



3&2 BIBLE MODELS. 

He was very busy then, in building up the walls of 
Jerusalem. The enemies of the Jews wanted very 
much to hinder that work. They threatened to attack 
Nehemiah and the Jews, while they were at work. But 
it was impossible to frighten them in this way. 

Then they tried to get Nehemiah to come and meet 
them, pretending that they wanted to talk over matters 
with him. But he knew that if they could only get 
him in their power, they would be apt to kill him. So 
his answer to them was, — "I am doing a great work, 
and I cannot come down." So he went on with his 
work, bravely, and perseveringly, till it was done. He 
labored on for twelve years, for the good of Jerusalem, 
till he had finished the work which he went there to 
do. And here, we see, how earnest Nehemiah was as 
a business man. And we must be earnest too, if we 
wish to be good boys and girls, or men and women of 
business. 

Let us look now, at some other examples of this 
point of Nehemiah's model. 

How Charley Built the Church. A minister had an 
appointment to preach, in the country. On getting 
out of the cars at the station, according to the direc- 
tion given him, he told the driver to take him to "Ebe- 
nezer Chapel." "Ebenezer?" said the driver; "oh, 
you mean little Charley's chapel, don't you?" "No," 
said the minister, "I mean Ebenezer." "Yes, but we 
about here, always call it — 'Little Charley's Chapel."' 
"And why do you call it so?" asked the minister. 
"Because little Charley laid the foundation-stone. You 
see, sir," continued the driver, "it happened in this 
way. A few years ago, we wanted a new chapel. A 



NEHEMIAH, THE MODEL MAN OF BUSINESS. 383 

meeting was called, to talk the matter over. A good 
deal was said, at that meeting, about how the money 
could be raised. But the times were hard ; and the 
people were poor ; and labor and materials were very 
dear. So they resolved that the chapel could not be 
built ; and then the meeting broke up. 

"But a day or two after the meeting, a little boy 
about nine years old, came to the minister's door, and 
rang the bell. The minister himself opened the door, 
and found the little fellow there. His face was all 
flushed, and the perspiration thick on his forehead. 
In front of him was his little toy wheelbarrow; and in 
the barrow were six new bricks. He had wheeled his 
load up a long, steep hill, and was out of breath, so 
that he could hardly speak. 'Well, Charley,' asked 
the wondering minister, 'and what is the meaning of 
this?' 'Oh, please, sir,' said Charley, T heard you 
wanted a new chapel, and were about giving it up ; so 
I begged these few bricks, from the men who are 
building a house down in the village, and thought 
they would do to begin with.' 

"With tears in his eyes, the minister thanked Charley 
for what he had done. Then he called another meet- 
ing of the people, about the chapel. Charley's bricks 
were piled up on the table, in front of the minister. 
He told the story of what Charley had done. Then 
he made a little speech to them about it. He said — 
' If they were all as earnest in the business of build- 
ing the chapel, as that little boy was, the work would 
soon be done.' This had a great effect on them. 
They resolved that the chapel should be built : but 
Charley laid the first stone. It is a big chapel. It 



384 BIBLE MODELS. 

will hold a thousand people, and cost more than ten 
thousand dollars, and now it is out of debt." 

"And what has become of little Charley?" asked 
the minister. Here the old man's voice choked, as he 
said : "If you'll let me pull up at the church-yard, sir, 
I'll show you Charley's grave. There are many- 
graves there, but you may always tell Charley's, by 
the bright flowers upon it. He was the pet of the 
Sunday-school, and the children never let a day go 
by, without putting fresh flowers on his grave. He 
used to live close by the school, and he died the very 
day on which the last dollar of the chapel debt was 
paid. It was a summer's day, and he made them set 
his window open, that he might hear them sing. He 
asked them to sing a bright, happy tune, which was a 
favorite of his ; and he died, as he was trying to join 
them in sineingf it from his little bed. 

" He sang the first verse of the hymn on earth; but, 
we all believe that he finished it in heaven." 

Now certainly Charley was earnest in the business 
of building that chapel. 

Earnestness in Conquering a Bad Habit. A work- 
ing man, who was trying to be a Christian, had got 
into the habit of chewing tobacco. He put his hand 
in his pocket one day, took out his plug of tobacco, 
and threw it away, saying as he did so, "That's the 
end of it." But that was 'not the end of it. A bad 
habit, that has long been followed, is not so easily over- 
come. The longing for the tobacco came back to 
him, with great power. He would chew camomile, 
toothpicks, quills, and various things to keep his jaws 
in motion, as he used to do with tobacco. But this 



NEHEMIAH, THE MODEL MAN OF BUSINESS. 385 

did not relieve him. He suffered dreadfully. At last 
he said to himself: "It's no use suffering so much for 
a bit of tobacco ; I'll go and get some." So he went 
and bought another plug, and put it in his pocket. 
"Now," he said, "when I want it awfully, I know what 
I'll do." Well, very soon he did want it awfully. Then 
he took the plug in his hand, and lifted up his heart 
in prayer to God for strength to get the victory in this 
struggle. Then looking at the tobacco, he said: "I 
love you. But are you my master, or am I yours ? 
You are a weed, and I am a man. You are a thing; 
and I am a man. Pll master you, if I die for it /" 
Every time the desire for the tobacco came over him, 
he would take it in his hand, and pray over it, and 
talk to it, in this way. This was kept up for six or 
eight weeks. Then, he threw the tobacco away, and 
felt that he no longer had any desire for it. By the 
help of God, and by his own earnestness he had gained 
the victory over his old enemy. And if we try to fol- 
low his example, we shall find that, in the business of 
overcoming bad habits, earnestness, and the help of 
God, will be sure to give us the victory. 

The first point of Nehemiah's model, as a man of 
business, was his — earnestness. 

In the second place, as a business man, Nehemiah was 
a model of — unselfishness. 

He gave up his office under the king of Persia, and 
the salary he was receiving there, that he might go to 
Jerusalem, to help his poor countrymen. Now, if he 
had been a selfish man, he would have said : " I am 
very sorry that Jerusalem is in ruins, and that my 
countrymen there are in so much trouble. I should 



386 BIBLE MODELS. 

like very much to help them. But if I go there, I 
shall have to give up my salary, and I can't afford to 
do that." But Nehemiah did not care about his salary. 
He was quite willing to let that go, if he could only 
help to build up the walls of Jerusalem, and be a com- 
fort to the poor Jews there. And this shows us what 
an unselfish man he was ! 

And then, during the twelve years that he remained 
at Jerusalem as governor of the city, he was entitled 
to receive a salary, every year. But this could only 
have been made up to him by the people of that city. 
And they were so poor that it would have been very 
hard for them to do it. So he refused to take any 
salary. And he stayed there, through all those years, 
at his own expense, working hard all the time, to build 
up the city, and to do good to the people, who lived 
there. And here we see that he was indeed a model 
business man because of his — unselfishness. 

And this is a good model for us to imitate. Let us 
look at some other examples of unselfishness. Our 
first story may be called — 

The Unseljisli BrotJier. A boy whose name was 
Jean Sedaine, lost his father, when he was thirteen 
years of age. They were living in France, about fifty 
miles from the city of Paris. He was left with a little 
brother, about five years old. His brother's name was 
Pierre. They had a mother living in Paris ; and after 
his father's death, Jean's first desire was to get to Paris, 
with his little brother, and try to find their mother. This 
happened before the days of railroads. People used 
to travel then, in large stages. In France, these were 
called — diligences. Jean went to the office of the dili- 




NEHEMIAH STARTS ON HIS JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM. 



388 BIBLE MODELS. 

gence, and asked what the fare was to Paris. They 
told him how much it cost. Then he found that he 
only had money enough to pay for one seat. So he 
took all the money he had to pay for his little brother ; 
and he made up his mind that he would follow on foot, 
as fast as he could. It was winter time when this took 
place. 

Jean overtook the diligence, the first time it stopped, 
at an inn, to change horses. As soon as he came up 
to it, he found his little brother crying from the cold. 
He had no shawl, nor anything to keep the poor 
fellow warm. So he nobly took off his own coat, and 
wrapped it round his brother, willing to walk in his 
shirt sleeves, if only the little fellow could be made 
comfortable. This touched the hearts of the other 
passengers, and brought tears to their eyes. They 
took up a collection among themselves, and soon had 
money enough to pay for Jean's passage. They gave 
him a seat by the side of his brother. This made them 
both feel very happy. 

Here is another story that illustrates this part of 
our subject very well. It may be called — 

The Unselfish Sailor. Some years ago, a Pacific 
steamer took fire. The burning vessel was headed 
for the shore, which was not very far off. The alarm 
and confusion among the passengers were terrible. 
Their only thought was how they could escape 
from suffering death, either by burning, or by drown- 
ing. 

There was one man on board, who had been work- 
ing for years in the mines of California. He had 
made a great deal of money, and was going back to 



NEHEMIAH, THE MODEL MAN OF BUSINESS. 389 

his home, in New England, to enjoy it. He had already 
buckled his belt, containing a large amount of gold, 
around him. Then he fastened a life-preserver under 
his arms, and was getting ready to jump into the 
water, and try to swim ashore. Just then a little girl 
came up to him, and said : 

"Sir, can you swim?" 

"Yes, my child, I can," was his reply. 

"Well, and won't you please, sir, save me?" 

This request sent a thrill to the man's heart. He 
said to himself, "What shall I do ? I cannot save this 
child and my gold too. One or both must be lost. 
Shall I give up the gold for which I have toiled so long, 
and on which I expected to live for the rest of my 
days ? or, shall I give up the life of this dear child ? 
She is worth more than gold to some one." 

It was a hard struggle; but it had to be decided at 
once. There was no time to lose. But manhood, and 
unselfishness gained the victory. He said to himself: 
"I'll save the child's life!" Then he unbuckled his belt. 
He cast his gold away. It sank in the deep waters. 
And then, taking the little child in his arms, he jumped 
from the deck of the burning vessel into the ocean. 
The gold was lost ; but the life of the child was saved. 
This was noble ! That man was imitating the second 
point of Nehemiah's model. In the business of doing 
good he was unselfish. 

I have one other story, under this point of our sub- 
ject. It is a very sweet one. We may call it — 

The Dying Girl's Penny. A little girl attended a 
missionary meeting, and sat upon her father's knee. 
While listening, with deep attention, to the missionary 



390 BIBLE MODELS. 

telling about the miseries, and cruelties, the poor 
heathen had to suffer, her father saw the tears 
trickling down her cheeks. 

When they reached home she said : " Father, can't 
I do something to help to send the gospel to the 
heathen ?" 

"What can you do, my child?" said her father. 
"You are but a little girl, and you have no money to 
give," 

" Mother gives me a penny a week," said the child; 
"couldn't I give that?" 

"Yes, you can," said her father, "and I'll buy you a 
little box to put it in." 

The next day her father bought her a little earthen- 
ware box, with a hole in the top of k, and every week 
the dear child dropped her penny into it. 

Not many weeks after this, the little girl was taken 
ill, and died. Soon after her funeral, her father took 
the box to the minister. He placed it in his hands, 
and said: "This box belonged to my dear daughter, 
who was buried the other day. It contains what she 
was saving for the missionaries." Then he told him 
about the missionary meeting, and what she said on 
coming home from that meeting, and added : 

"I hadn't the heart to break it myself; so I have 
brought it to you : if you will break it, you will find 
seventeen pennies in it." 

The minister broke the box ; but, on counting over 
the pennies, he found that there were eighteen, in- 
stead of seventeen. The father was surprised, and 
couldn't understand where the other penny came from. 
He asked the minister if it was not just seventeen 



NEHEMIAH, THE MODEL MAN OF BUSINESS. 39 1 

weeks since that missionary meeting was held. The 
minister thought it over a little while, and then said : 
"Yes, it is just seventeen weeks." And there they 
had to leave it. But when the father reached home 
he told his wife about it, and asked her if she knew 
where the other penny came from ? 

"Oh, yes," she said, "I can tell you all about it. 
The day before our dear child died, a kind neighbor 
called in to see her. Observing how feverish, and 
parched her lips were, she said, on leaving — "Here, 
my child, is a penny to buy an orange, to moisten 
your lips with." When the neighbor was gone, our 
dear little one called me to her bedside, and said, — 
"Mother, 'tis true I am very thirsty, and the orange 
would be real nice ; but I would rather you would 
fetch my missionary-box, that I may drop the penny 
in there." I carried her the box, and it was the last 
thing she did before she died. With a trembling hand, 
and a smile on her pale cheek, she dropped the money 
in, saying as she did so: "The heathen need the 
gospel more than I need an orange." And that penny 
made up the eighteen found in her box. How beau- 
tiful that was ! That little girl was imitating this point 
of Nehemiah's model. In the important business of 
helping on the missionary work she was — unselfish. 

In the third place, as a business man, Nehemiah was 
a model ^-faithfulness. 

The business he undertook to do at Jerusalem, was 
very trying and troublesome. But before starting in 
it, he made up his mind to be faithful, and go steadily 
on with it, whatever might happen. A long succes- 
sion of difficulties met him, in attending to that busi- 



392 BIBLE MODELS. 

ness. His enemies began their efforts to hinder him, 
by making sport of what the Jews were doing. They 
said if even a fox should tread upon the wall, the 
Jews were building, it would tumble down. Yet Nehe- 
miah did not care for their ridicule, but went steadily 
on with his work. Then his enemies tried to frighten 
him. They threatened to attack him and his friends, 
while they were working on the wall. But Nehemiah 
girded his sword by his side, and told his friends to 
do the same. They went to work in this way, and 
their enemies were afraid to attack them. Then the 
enemies of Nehemiah laid all sorts of snares and traps, 
to hinder him in his work ; but he turned away from 
them, and went steadily on with what he was doing. 
Then they wrote to the king, his master, and charged 
Nehemiah with rebellion, against his authority. This 
made it necessary for him to go all the way back to Shu- 
shan, in order to explain matters to the king, and to 
prove to him that there was no truth in what his ene- 
mies had written about him. But even this did not dis- 
courage him. He made it all right with the king ; and 
then returned to Jerusalem, and went bravely on with 
his work there. As a man of business, he was a grand 
model of faithfulness. And we must learn to be faith- 
ful too, in all we undertake, if we hope to be useful 
and successful in our work. 

And now, for our encouragement, let us look at 
some other examples of faithfulness. The first ex- 
ample may be called — 

Faithful in Obeying Orders. The late Lord Derby, 
in England, was having one of his country-houses de- 
corated. The men were busy painting the walls and 




&i£^ 



REBUILDING THE WALL OF JERUSALEM. 



394 BIBLE MODELS. 

the floor of the great central hall. A young man, 
tall and strong, was at work on one of the walls. 
The Earl ordered a number of slippers, to be placed 
by the door-mat. He told this young man, if any 
one came in, he must order him to put on a pair of 
slippers, before crossing the passage ; then he added, 
"And if anybody is not willing to do this, you must 
just take him by the shoulder and turn him out." 

" I'll do it, sir," said the young man. 

Soon after, a hunting party came to the house. 
Among them was the great Duke of Wellington. The 
Duke's boots were covered all over with mud. He 
opened the door, and was about to walk across the 
hall, when the young man, immediately jumped off 
from the ladder, on which he was painting. He offered 
the Duke a pair of slippers, but he declined to put 
them on. Then the young man seized the Duke by 
the shoulder, and fairly pushed him out of the house. 

The painter said afterwards that the eagle eye of 
the Duke went right through him, and as he was not 
acquainted with him, he could not help wondering 
who it was. 

In the course of the day, Lord Derby, on hearing 
what had taken place, called his household, into the 
library, with the men who were working for him, and 
demanded, who had the rudeness to push the Duke 
of Wellington out of his house. 

The painter came forward, trembling, and said, — 
"It was I, my lord." 

"And pray," said his lordship, "how came you 
to do it?" 

"Because, my lord," said the painter, "you told me 



NEHEMIAH, THE MODEL MAN OF BUSINESS. 395 

to put any one out, who should attempt to walk across 
the hall without putting on slippers ; and I was only- 
obeying your orders." 

Then the Duke, who was present, turned round to 
Lord Derby with a smile ; and taking a gold sovereign 
from his purse, handed it to the astonished painter, 
saying as he did so: "You are right, young man, to 
obey orders. Always be faithful to your orders, if 
you want to succeed in your business." 

Our next story may be called — 

Faithful to the Church. This story is told about a 
good, faithful Christian woman. She was a member 
of the Presbyterian church in a town in Illinois. The 
church to which she belonged, had run down so low, 
that it was thought to be dead ; and the Presbytery, 
at one of their meetings, sent a committee to disband 
it. The committee arrived at the town, in which 
this church was located. They inquired for the 
church, and were told there was none. Then they 
inquired for the elders, — there were none ; for the 
deacons, — there were none ; for the male mem- 
bers, — there were none ; for the female members,— 
there was but one. This was the good woman, of 
whom we have spoken. They found her out, and told 
her they had been sent there, by the Presbytery, to 
disband the church, or break it up. This excited her 
very much. She said to the gentlemen of the com- 
mittee : "I am the only member of the church left 
here. But, I am entirely unwilling to be disbanded, 
or broken up." 

"This is a pretty piece of business for the Presby- 
tery. I am ashamed of them. My name is Jones. 



396 BIBLE MODELS. 

You can go back and tell the Presbytery that Mrs. 
Jones positively refuses to be disbanded. The proper 
thing for them to do, is to send a good man here, to 
preach the gospel, and try to build up the church." 

They tried to reason with her, but in vain. She 
had but one answer to all their arguments, and that 
was: "I will not be disbanded." They returned to 
the Presbytery and reported what Mrs. Jones said. 
They had the wisdom to see that Mrs. Jones was right. 
They sent a good minister to preach the Gospel there. 
God blessed his labors ; and the result was, that the 
church was revived, and built up ; and now, it is a 
flourishing, self-supporting church. It has a settled 
pastor, with more than one hundred and thirty com- 
municants. And all these blessed results followed 
from the faithfulness of that good woman. 

Let us all try to imitate Nehemiah's example, when, 
as a business man, we see him to have been — a model 
of faithfulness. 

In the fourth, and last place, when we look at Nehe- 
miah as a business man, we find him a model of — 

PRAYER. 

In the opening chapter of the book, which is called 
by his name, and which contains the history of his 
great work, we learn that when he heard of the sad 
state of things among his countrymen at Jerusalem, 
the very first thing he did was to engage in prayer to 
God. We can turn to the first chapter of Nehemiah, 
and read this prayer. There we see how he began 
by asking God to make the king willing to let him go 
to Jerusalem, and build up its walls. That prayer was 
answered, and the way was opened for him to go. 




NEHEMIAH PREACHES TO THE PEOPLE 



398 BIBLE MODELS. 

And then, as he met with one difficulty after another, in 
carrying on his work at Jerusalem, we find him contin- 
ually praying to God to remember him, and to help him. 

We have a beautiful prayer of Nehemiah's in the 
9th chapter of his book. This occupies almost the 
entire chapter, which is quite a long one. In reading 
this prayer we can judge of the way in which he used 
to pray for himself, and for his friends, who were help- 
ing in his work. 

In the last chapter of his book, we find four short 
prayers. This shows us how he was in the habit of 
connecting prayer to God with all the work in which 
he was engaged. The very last sentence in the book 
of Nehemiah, is the prayer "Remember me, O my 
God for good." 

And there is no one point, in the model of the busi- 
ness man, which Nehemiah has left us that is more 
important than this. He was a model of prayer, in 
everything that he did. If we hope to be successful 
in any work that we undertake, nothing is more im- 
portant than to mingle prayer with it, as Nehemiah 
did. Let us be sure to imitate this point of the model 
he has left us. No limits can be put to the help we 
may get in answer to prayer. It is true, as the hymn 
says, that 

"Prayer makes the darken'd cloud withdraw; 
Prayer climbs the ladder Jacob saw ; 
Gives exercise to faith and love, 
Brings every blessing from above. ' ' 

Now let us look at some other examples of the 
help, and strength, and blessing that follow from the 
proper use of prayer. Our first story may be called — 



NEHEMIAH, THE MODEL MAN OF BUSINESS. 399 

Paying Rent by Prayer. A poor widow found that 
her rent was due, and she was very much troubled, 
because she had no money to pay it with. She talked 
with her little son George about it. He was a good 
boy, and was trying to be a Christian. After hearing 
what his mother had to say on the subject, George 
went out of the room, and his poor mother sat there, 
thinking what she was to do. In a little while she 
heard the sound of sobs coming from the next room. 
She went to the door of the room, and listened. She 
heard little George crying, and sobbing, and saying 
to himself : "Poor mother! what will she do?" Then 
he said to himself: "I'll ask God to help her." Then 
he kneeled down and offered this short and simple 
prayer : "O Lord, please help my dear mother to pay 
her rent, for Jesus' sake, Amen." His mother said 
nothing, but went away. This took place at the close 
of the day. 

Early the next morning a kind lady came, and gave 
George's mother money enough to pay her rent. She 
had heard of her troubles, and came to help her out 
of them. So George's prayer was answered. He 
trusted in Jesus, and felt sure that all would be right, 
and so it was. 

The Power of Prayer. Some years ago, in a west- 
ern cabin, far away from any other habitation, a Chris- 
tian mother sat rocking her babe to sleep. Her hus- 
band had been called suddenly away on business, 
without being able to get any one to stay with her. 
As she sat with her baby in her arms, on glancing 
round the room, she saw the feet of a man sticking 
out from under the bed. She knew he must be a 



400 BIBLE MODELS. 

robber. But she did not scream, or make any noise. 
She kept on rocking her baby till it went to sleep ; 
when she gently laid it in the cradle. Then she 
quietly knelt down, and offered the following earnest 
prayer : — 

"O Thou ever present God, who never slumber- 
est, or sleepest, watch over our cabin this night. Keep 
me and my darling babe from all danger. Let no 
harm come near us. If there be those about who 
wish us ill, bring them to a better state of mind and 
feeling. O, Lord, have mercy on all wanderers, and 
upon all who do deeds of violence and death. Show 
them the error of their way. Lead them to repent- 
ance. Pardon and save them, for Jesus' sake, Amen." 
God heard this prayer. He caused it to touch the 
heart of that robber. As the mother rose from her 
knees she saw the man coming out from under the 
bed. He said : 

" My friend, don't be alarmed. There will be no 
harm to-night to you, or your cabin. I thank you for 
that prayer. I am one of the wanderers that you 
spoke of. I have lived a very wicked life. But now, 
I wish to do better. Won't you please pray for God 
to help me." They kneeled down together, and she 
offered an earnest prayer, that God would have mercy 
on him, and help him to lead a better life. Then he 
thanked her, and went away. 

Years passed by, and that good Christian mother 
heard nothing of the robber. In the meantime she 
had left her cabin in the West, and was living in Cin- 
cinnati. One day, she was attending a large public 
meeting in the cause of temperance, and reform. 



NEHEMIAH, THE MODEL MAN OF BUSINESS. 4OI 

Judge of her surprise, when in the principal speaker 
of that evening she recognized her robber friend. As 
he was going on with his speech, his eye rested on this 
good woman, and he recognized her. Then the mem- 
ory of that night in her cabin came back to him with 
great power. He paused for a moment. His face 
turned pale, and he felt as if he would faint. But he 
rallied, and went on with his speech. When the meet- 
ing was over, he came up and shook her warmly by 
the hand, and said: "Oh, my friend, how can I ever 
thank you, as I ought, for your prayer that night? 
You saved me from going to ruin. You led me to 
the Saviour. I am now a minister. God has blessed 
me in my work. But I owe it all to you." Here we 
see the power of prayer. 

I have one other story, under this part of our sub- 
ject. We may call it — 

The Influence of a Mother s Prayers. More than 
thirty years ago, one lovely Sabbath morning, eight 
young men, students in a law school, were walking along 
the banks of a stream that flows into the Potomac 
river, not far from the city of Washington. They were 
going to a grove, in a retired place, to spend the hours 
of that holy day, in playing cards. Each of them had 
a flask of wine in his pocket. They were the sons of, 
praying mothers. • As they were walking along, amus- 
ing each other with idle jests, the bell of a church, in a 
little village about two miles off, began to ring. It 
sounded in the ears of those thoughtless young men as 
plainly, as though it were only on the other side of the 
little stream along which they were walking. Presently 
one of their number, whose name was George, stopped, 



402 BIBLE MODELS. 

and said to the friend nearest to him, that he would 
go no further, but would return to the village, and &o 
to church. His friend called out to their companions, 
who were a little ahead of him: "Boys! boys! come 
back here. George is getting religious. We must 
help him. Come on, and let's baptize him by immer- 
sion in the water." In a moment they formed a circle 
round him. They told him that the only way in which 
he could save himself from having a cold bath, was by 
going with them. 

In a calm, quiet, but earnest way he said : 
"I know very well, that you have power enough 
to put me in the water, and hold me there till I am 
drowned ; and if you choose you can do so ; and I will 
make no resistance ; but, listen to what I have to say, 
and then do as you think best. 

"You all know that I am two hundred miles away 
from home ; but you do not know, that my mother is 
a helpless, bed-ridden invalid. I never remember 
seeing her out of her bed. I am her youngest child. 
My father could not afford to pay for my schooling ; 
but our teacher is a warm friend of my father, and 
offered to take me without any charge. He was very 
anxious for me to come ; but mother would not con- 
sent. The struggle almost cost her what little life was 
left to her. At length, after many prayers on the 
subject, she yielded, and said I might go. The pre- 
parations for my leaving home were soon made. My 
mother never said a word to me on the subject, till 
the morning when I was to leave. After I had eaten 
my breakfast, she sent for me, and asked if everything 
was ready. I told her all was ready, and I was only 



NEHEMIAH, THE MODEL MAN OF BUSINESS. 403 

waiting for the stage. At her request I kneeled 
beside her bed. With her loving hands upon my 
head; she prayed for her youngest child. Many and 
many a night since then, I have dreamed that whole 
scene over. It is the happiest recollection of my life. 
I believe, till the day of my death, I shall be able to 
repeat every word of that prayer. Then she spoke 
to me thus : 

'"My precious boy, you do not know, — you never 
can know, the agony of a mother's heart, in parting, 
for the last time, from her youngest child. When you 
leave home, you will have looked, for the last time, 
this side the grave, on the face of her who loves you, 
as no other mortal does or can. Your father cannot 
afford the expense of your making us visits, during 
the two years that your studies will occupy. I cannot 
possibly live as long as that. The sands in the hour- 
glass of my life have nearly run out. In the far-off, 
strange place to which you are going, there will be 
no loving mother to give you counsel in time of 
trouble. Seek counsel and help from God. Every 
Sabbath morning, from ten to eleven o'clock, I will 
spend the hour in prayer for you. Wherever you 
may be, during this sacred hour, when you hear the 
church-bells ringing, let your thoughts come back to 
this chamber, where your dying mother will be ago- 
nizing in prayer for you. But I hear the stage coming. 
Kiss me ; farewell !' 

"Boys, I never expect to see my mother again on 
earth. But, by the help of God, I mean to meet her 
in heaven." 

As George stopped speaking the tears were stream- 



404 BIBLE MODELS. 

ing down his cheeks. He looked at his companions. 
Their eyes were all filled with tears. 

In a moment the ring was opened, which they had 
formed about him. He passed out, and went to 
church. He had stood up for the right, against great 
odds. They admired him for doing what they 
had not courage to do. They all followed him to 
church. On their way there, each of them quietly 
threw away his cards, and his wine-flask. Never 
again did any of those young men play cards on the 
Sabbath. From that day they all became changed 
men. Six of them died Christians, and are now 
in heaven. George is an able Christian lawyer in 
Iowa ; and his friend, the eighth of the party who 
wrote this account, has been for many years an earnest 
active member of the church. Here were eight men 
converted by the prayers of that good Christian 
woman. And, if we only knew all the results of their 
examples, and their labors, we should have a grand 
illustration of the influence of a mother's prayers. 

And so, when we consider Nehemiah as the model 
of a man of business, we find four good points in the 
model he has left us. He was a model of earnestness ; 
a model of unselfishness ; a model of faithfulness ; and 
a model of prayer. 

Let us ask God for grace to imitate the points of 
this model, and then we shall be successful in our 
wordly business, and also in the business of serving 
God. 




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THE JEWS REBUILD THE TEMPLE AT JERUSALEM. 



DANIEL, THE MODEL OF DECISION. 



O, Darnel, a man greatly beloved." — Daniel x : i i. 




ABRIEL, the angel of God, spoke these 
words to the prophet Daniel. In using 
them he meant to let Daniel know 
not only that he was beloved on earth, 
but that he was beloved in heaven. He 
meant that he was beloved of God, and beloved of 
the angels. What an honor this was ! Who would 
not rather have an angel say this of him, than be 
permitted to wear the crown, — and sway the sceptre, 
— of the mightiest monarch on earth ? 

Daniel was one of the best, and wisest men of whom 
we read in the Bible. Most of these men, though 
generally very good, yet sometimes said, or did what 
was not right. But it was not so with Daniel. All 
through his life — so far as we can learn from the Bible 
— he never spoke a word, or did an act, that was not 
right and good. He began to serve God when he 
was quite young ; and this, no doubt, was one thing 
that helped to make him so good a man. He 

was a very decided man. He always did what he 

406 



4-08 BIBLE MODELS. 

knew was right, no matter what the consequence 
might be. 

And so, we may speak of Daniel as the model of — 
decision. And we can see three great benefits that 
followed from his decision. 

In the first place, Daniel's decision — kept him from 
doing wrong. 

And if we learn to follow the model he has set 
us, it will do the same for us. We have a good 
illustration of this point of our subject, in the first 
chapter of the book of Daniel. When about sixteen 
years old, he was carried captive to Babylon, with a 
number of his countrymen. Daniel belonged to a 
princely family. After arriving in Babylon, he was 
chosen, with a number of other young Jewish princes, 
to stand in the king's palace. Among these were the 
three famous men — Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed- 
nego, who were afterwards cast into the burning fiery 
furnace, and came out unhurt. It is said of them that 
they were young men ' l in whom was no blemish ; they 
were well-favored" — or orood-lookino- — "skillful in all 
wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding 
science." Daniel and his companions had to go through 
a course of instruction, that they might understand 
the language and the learning of the people, among 
whom they had come to live. And in going through 
this course of training, Daniel was expected to eat 
and drink things that were forbidden by the Jewish 
law. Now most young men, situated as he was, 
would have said : "Well, I can't help this. Here I 
am in Babylon. I must do as the Babylonians do." 

But Daniel did not think so. He felt sure that 



DANIEL, THE MODEL OF DECISION. 409 

what would have been wrong for him to do at Jeru- 
salem, was wrong for him in Babylon ; and he de- 
cided not to do it. He made up his mind that he 
would do what was right, and leave the result with 
God. He did so, and it all turned out well. I have 
not time now to tell the whole story. But read the 
first chapter of Daniel, and you will find it all there. 
And you will see how Daniel's decision kept him from 
doing wrong". 

And then we have another illustration of the same 
thing, further on in Daniel's history. In the meantime 
he has risen to be the greatest man in the kingdom 
of Babylon. A man in such a high position always 
has some people about him who envy him, and become 
his enemies, just because he is so much better off 
than they are. And Daniel had a number of enemies 
of this kind. They envied him, and hated him, for no 
other reason than just because he was so good, and 
so great. They tried to find some charge to bring 
against him. But, he was so honest, — so true, — and 
so faithful, in all his duties, that they could not pos- 
sibly find anything against him. 

Then they determined to get up a charge against 
him on account of his religion. They knew how 
regular he was in praying to God, and they thought 
that they could succeed against him here. So they 
got the king to pass a law that no man should pray 
to any god for thirty days ; and that if any one did 
so he should be cast into the den of lions. The law 
was passed. Daniel knew it. But he decided not to 
mind it. To stop praying to God was a wrong 
thing, and he determined not to do it, even though 



4IO BIBLE MODELS. 

the consequence must be that he would be cast into 
the den of lions. He had been in the habit of praying 
to God three times a day. He kept on doing this, 
just the same as before. His enemies rushed into 
his chamber, and found him on his knees. They 
accused him to the king of breaking the law. He 
could not deny it. The king was sorry, for he loved 
Daniel very much. He tried all he could to save 
him ; but that was impossible. So Daniel was cast 
into the den of lions. But God sent His angel to 
shut the lion's mouths, and they did not hurt him. 
The next morning he came out of the den safe, and 
unharmed. And here we see how Daniel's decision 
kept him from doing wrong. 

And how many instances we find in which those 
who follow Daniel's decision, are kept from doing 
wrong, just as he was ! 

Let us look at some of these. Our first story we 
may call — 

Decision in Telling the Truth. We find this story 
in Persian history. A little boy named Abdool Kader, 
had a dream one night, which made him feel that he 
must devote himself to the service of God. The 
carrying out of this dream would make it necessary 
for him to visit the sacred city of Mecca. The next 
morning he went and told his mother about it. 

"She wept," he says, "when I told her of my dream, 
and where I was going. Then taking out eighty 
dinars, she said: 'This is all the family inheritance 
that remains to be divided between you and your 
brother. I give you forty dinars, which is the portion 
belonging to you. And now, promise me faithfully 



DANIEL, THE MODEL OF DECISION. 4 1 I 

that wherever you go, and whatever happens to you, 
you will never tell a lie.' I promised her faithfully. 
Then she bade me farewell, saying : ' Go, my son ; 
may God bless you, and permit us to meet again.' 

"Then I started on my journey. All went on well, 
till one day our caravan was attacked by a large com- 
pany of horsemen. One after another they plundered 
all our companions. At last one of them came to me. 
'Little fellow,' said he, 'what have you got?' 

" 'Forty dinars,' said I, 'sewed up in the border of 
my coat.' 

"The man laughed, and went away, thinking no 
doubt, that I was joking with him. 

"Then another man came up to me. He asked the 
same question. I gave him the same answer, and he 
too went away. 

"Then I was taken into the presence of the chief 
of the band, who was sitting under a tree. 'What 
property have you got, my little fellow ?' he asked. 

" T have told two of your men, already,' I replied, 
'that I have forty dinars, sewed up in the border of 
my coat, but they did not seem to believe what I said ; 
and now, sir, I tell you the same.' 

"He ordered the border of my coat to be ripped 
open, and there he found the money. He was very 
much surprised, and turning to me, he said : 'And how 
came you, my young friend, to speak so plainly, about 
your money that had been so carefully hidden ?' 

"'Because,' I replied, 'before, leaving home I prom- 
ised my mother that I would never tell a lie ; and now, 
whatever happens I cannot break that promise.' 

'"Brave boy!' said the robber. 'Can it be that you 



412 BIBLE MODELS. 

have such a sense of your duty to your mother, at 
your early age, and yet I, at my age, am unmindful 
of the duty I owe to my God ? Give me your hand, 
that I may swear repentance upon it.' 

"A number of the band, impressed by his words 
and example, did the same. 

"'You have been our leader in doing wrong,' they 
said to their chief, — 'now be our leader in trying to do 
right.'" 

And so, the example of that brave boy, and his de- 
cision in telling the truth, was the means of turning 
those robbers from their wrong doings. 

Our next illustration shows us the evil that was pre- 
vented by — 

Decision in Keeping the Sabbath. Some years ago, 
in one of the towns of Eastern Massachusetts, there 
was a livery stable kept by a Mr. D. He was a mem- 
ber of the church, and had such a regard for the Sab- 
bath, that he never would allow any of his horses or 
carriages to be hired out on that day. One Sunday 
morning, three gentlemen from Boston, who were stay- 
ing with their wives at the village hotel, said to the 
keeper of it, that they would like him to send over to 
the livery stable, and ask Mr. D. to let them have 
three single-horse buggies, as they each wished to 
take his wife and go to the camp-meeting about six 
miles off. "I would do so with pleasure," said the 
hotel keeper, "but it will be of no use, as Mr. D. 
never hires his horses out on Sunday." 

"Well, I'll go over and see him about it," said one 
of the gentlemen. "You see if I don't get the horses. 
I never saw the man yet that could not be bought with 



DANIEL, TILE MODEL OF DECISION. 413 

money." So he went and rang the bell at Mr. D's 
door. Mr. D. answered the call himself, and invited 
the gentleman in. 

Then the gentleman told him what he and his two 
friends wanted. 

"I should be very glad to accommodate you, sir, if 
I could," said Mr. D., "but it is against my principles 
to hire my horses on the Sabbath day, unless it be a 
case of necessity." 

"How much do you usually have a day for your 
single horses?" asked the gentleman. 

"Two dollars and a half a day, sir, is our usual 
price," said Mr. D. 

"Well, then," replied the gentleman, "here are three 
five-dollar bills ; please take them, and let your man 
harness the horses, and we will go away very quietly, 
and will return just after dark without notice." 

"Sir," said Mr. D., "I can only repeat what I have 
already said, that it is against my principles to hire out 
my horses on God's day, and so I must persist in de- 
clining your very liberal offer." 

Then the gentleman stepped closer up to Mr. D., 
and slipping something into his hand, said to him : 
"There, take that, and let your man quietly harness the 
horses for us." 

Mr. D. looked down at what was thus thrust into 
his hand, and saw that it was a new one-hundred dollar 
note on a Boston bank. This was a glittering prize. 
But, without a moment's hesitation, and with a deci- 
sion which would have done honor to Daniel himself, 
he said, calmly, and emphatically : 

"Sir, my principles in this matter are fixed ; and if 



41 4 BIBLE MODELS. 

you should offer me all the money in the city of Boston, 
it would not alter them. If you wish to attend wor- 
ship our church-bell is now ringing, and I shall be 
most happy to show you a seat, but I cannot let my 
horses go out on the Lord's day ;" and then he handed 
back the hundred dollar note. 

The gentleman took the money which had been 
returned to him ; then he looked Mr. D. admiringly 
in the face, and, stretching out his hand to him, he 
said : 

"I want to shake hands with you. I have some- 
times heard of such men ; but this is the first time I 
ever met with a man who cannot be bought to do 
what he believes is wrong. I thank you for the ex- 
ample you have set me, and for the wrong you have 
kept me from doing." This is a fine illustration of 
decision, and of the wrong-doing it prevented. 

I have one other illustration of this point of our 
subject. It is a story in verse, about a boy who had 
a struggle with his conscience, when tempted to take 
what did not belong to him. We may call it — 

DECISION ABOUT STEAIING. 
BOY. 

"Over the fence is a garden fair — 
How I would love to be master there ! 
All that I lack is a mere pretence ; 
I could leap over the low stone fence." 

CONSCIENCE. 

"This is the way that crimes commence; 
Sin and sorrow are over the fence." 



DANIEL, THE MODEL OF DECISION. 415 

BOY. 
"Over the fence I can toss my ball, 
Then I can go for it — that is all ; 
Picking an apple up under a tree 
Wouldn't really be a theft, you see." 

CONSCIENCE. 

"This is a falsehood — a weak pretence; 

Sin and sorrow are over the fence. ' ' 

BOY. 
' ' Whose is the voice that speaks so plain ? 
Twice have I heard it, and not in vain, 
I never will do as I planned to day, 
But always walk in the right, true way. 

CONSCIENCE. 
"This is the way that all crimes commence, 
Coveting that which is over the fence." 

Daniel was a model of decision ; and the first great 
benefit he found in his decision was — that it kept him 
from doing wrong. 

The second great benefit, Daniel found in his decision 
was that — it helped him to do good. 

When he was a young man in Babylon, Daniel had 
three warm friends with him. Their names were Shad- 
rach, Meshach and Abednego. They saw the decided 
way in which he acted, when he refused to eat, or drink 
anything that was forbidden by the law of Moses. 
Those young men admired Daniel's conduct on that 
occasion. They resolved to follow his example. They 
learned the lesson of decision then, and they never 
forgot it. And nobly indeed they practiced that lesson 
in after years. 



41 6 BIBLE MODELS. 

The time came when Nebuchadnezzar, the king of 
Babylon, set up a golden image. At the same time he 
passed a law, requiring that everybody should fall 
down and worship this image, when they heard the 
instruments of music play ; and stating that if any 
persons refused to do this, they were to be cast into a 
fiery furnace, and be burned to death. 

These friends of Daniel had never forgotten the 
lesson of decision which he taught them so long before. 
They made up their minds that, whatever the conse- 
quences might be, they would not bow down, and wor- 
ship this image. The instruments of music sounded. 
All the" rest of the people fell on their faces, and wor- 
shipped the golden image. But Shadrach, Meshach, 
and Abednego, stood upright in their places. They 
refused to keep this law of the king of Babylon, 
because there was a higher law of the King of heaven, 
which forbade them to do any such thing. 

The case was reported to Nebuchadnezzar. They 
were brought before him. He asked them if they 
were ready, when the instruments of music should 
sound again, to fall down and worship his golden 
image? They said decidedly: "No; we cannot do 
it." Then he ordered his servants to make the fur- 
nace seven times hotter than usual, and to throw these 
men in. They did so. But God wrought a miracle 
for their preservation. He took away from the fire, 
its power to hurt them. It just burnt the cords by 
which their limbs were bound, and then they walked 
up and down, amidst the roaring flames of the furnace, 
with as much ease, and comfort, as if they had been 
walking- in a garden of roses. 





DANIEL'S THREE FRIENDS REFUSE TO WORSHIP THE GOLDEN IMAGE 
27 



41 8 BIBLE MODELS. 

The king looked on, with unspeakable amazement. 
He called them out of the furnace. They came out. 
Not a hair of their heads was singed ; and even the 
smell of fire had not passed upon them. 

This event, so strange, so wonderful, converted the 
king from his idolatry ; and led him to publish a law, 
through all his vast dominions, in favor of the one true 
God whom Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego wor- 
shipped. And all the good done by these three 
men, to the king of Babylon, and the people of his 
dominions, followed from the example of decision 
which Daniel set when he was a young man. 

And we find many examples of the good which 
follows, in different ways, from the exercise of decision. 

Here is a story about the decision of a young lady 
in standing up for Jesus, and of the good that followed 
from it. 

At a fashionable evening party, some time ago, 
a young physician was present. He spoke of one of 
his patients who was in a very dangerous state. "I am 
very much annoyed," he said, "by some Christian 
people, who are all the time talking and praying with 
him. I wish these people would let my patients alone, 
and mind their own business. What's the use of all 
this fuss ? Death is only an eternal sleep. The relig- 
ion of Christ is all a delusion ; and Christian people 
are simply mistaken." 

A young lady, one of the gayest of the party, was 
sitting near, and heard all he said. 

She at once answered him, saying: "Pardon me, doc- 
tor, but I cannot hear you talk thus, and remain silent. 
I am not a professor of religion myself, and I never 



DANIEL, THE MODEL OF DECISION. 4I9 

knew anything about it by experience. But my mother 
was a Christian. Times without number she has taken 
me to her room, and with her loving hand upon my head 
has prayed that God would give her grace to train me 
for heaven. Two years ago my precious mother died, 
and the religion which she loved in life sustained and 
comforted her in death. She called us to her bedside, 
and with her face all radiant with glory, she asked us 
to meet her in heaven. And now," said the young 
lady, her voice choking with deep feeling, " can I be- 
lieve that this is all a delusion? Does my mother 
sleep an eternal sleep? Will she never wake again 
on the morning of the resurrection ? Shall I see her 
no more? No; I cannot, I will not believe it." Here 
her brother tried to quiet her, for, by this time all the 
company had gathered round her, and were listening 
to her earnest words. "No," she said: "brother, let 
me alone. I must defend my mother's God, and my 
mother's religion." 

The physician made no reply, but soon left the 
room. He was found shortly after, walking up and 
down an adjoining room, in great distress of mind. 
"What is the matter?" asked a friend. "Oh!" said he, 
"that young lady is right. Her words have pierced 
my soul like an arrow. I, too, must have the religion 
I have despised, or I am lost forever." And the re- 
sult of that conversation was, that both the young lady, 
and the physician, became earnest Christians, and spent 
all their days in doing good to those about them. 

And here we see how much good was done by the 
decision of that young lady, in so nobly standing up 
for Jesus, and the truth as it is in Him. 



420 BIBLE MODELS. 

The next illustration, is one that came under my 
own notice. We may call it — True Honesty ; or — 

Decision for the Right. One summer, some years 
ago, I was at the sea-shore. As I was walking- on 
the piazza of the hotel, a gentleman came up to me, 
and asked, "Is not this Dr. Newton?" 

I said — "It is." "Do you remember me, Doctor?" 
he asked. I looked at him carefully, and replied, "No, 
sir, I do not." 

"Well, sir," said he, "I can easily recall myself to 
your recollection. Do you remember, some years ago, 
when you were at St. Paul's Church, losing one day, 
a bank check, for $625?" 

"Oh, yes!" I replied. "I never shall forget the 
fright, which that occasioned me." 

" Very good. And do you remember giving a ten 
dollar gold-piece, to the young man who brought back 
the lost check to you ?" " No, sir. I have no recollec- 
tion of that." "Well, sir, you did. I am the person 
to whom you gave it ; and a blessed ten dollar gold- 
piece that was to me. I had just come to Philadelphia, 
to try and get employment. I was in feeble health, 
and had not a dollar in the world. The day before, 
the offer had been made to me of a newspaper route, 
which was said to be very profitable. But they asked 
ten dollars for it ; and this was more than I could- 
raise. Immediately on receiving your ten dollar gold 
piece, I went and bought that newspaper route. It did 
prove profitable. From that day I have gone on and 
prospered. Now, I am well off; I am a member of 
the church, and the superintendent of a Sabbath-school ; 
and I owe it all to your ten dollars." 



DANIEL, THE MODEL OF DECISION. 42 1 

"No, my friend," I said, "you are mistaken there. 
It was not that ten dollar gold-piece which has brought 
all this good to you ; but, it was God's blessing on 
your honesty in returning the lost check, and your 
decision to do what was right, that has led to all the 
good which has followed you. You might have forged 
my name, on the back of that check, and have tried 
to get the whole of those six hundred and twenty-five 
dollars. Then you would have been taken up, and 
put in the penitentiary. But instead of that, you 
decided to do the fair, honest thing. And God's bless- 
ing has followed you ever since. Here we see the 
good to which a right decision leads. 

I have only one other illustration under this head. 
We may call it — 

A Boy s Decision About Drink. Many years ago, 
Mr. Hall, an English gentleman, visited Ireland, for 
the purpose of taking sketches of its most beautiful 
scenery, to be used in an illustrated work on Ireland, 
which has since been published. 

On one occasion, when about to spend a day in the 
neighborhood of Lake Killarney, he met a bright 
young Irish lad who offered his services as guide, 
through the district. 

A bargain was made with him, and the party went off. 
The lad proved himself well acquainted, with all the 
places of interest in that neighborhood, and had plenty 
of stories to tell about them. He did his work well, 
and to the entire satisfaction of the visitors. On their 
return to the starting point, after a day of great enjoy- 
ment, Mr. Hall took a flask of whiskey from his pocket, 
and drank some. Then he handed it to the boy, and 



42 2 BIBLE MODELS. 

asked him to help himself. To his great surprise the 
offer was firmly, but politely declined. 

Mr. Hall thought this was very strange. To find an 
Irish boy, who would not touch or taste whiskey, was 
stranger to him than anything he had seen that day. 
He could not understand it ; and he resolved to try 
the strength of the boy's temperance principles. He 
offered first a shilling ; then half a crown ; and then 
five shillings if he would taste that whiskey. But the 
boy was firm. A real manly heart was beating under 
his ragged jacket. Mr. Hall determined to try him 
further, so he offered the boy a golden half sovereign, 
if he would take a drink of whiskey. That was a 
coin seldom seen by lads of this class, in those parts. 
Straightening himself up, with a look of indignation 
in his face, the boy pulled out a temperance medal, 
from the inner pocket of his jacket, and holding it 
bravely up, he said: "This was my father's medal. 
For years he was intemperate. All his wages were 
spent in drink. It almost broke my mother's heart. 
And what a hard time she had to keep the poor childer 
from starving! But at last, my father took a stand. 
He signed the pledge, and wore this medal as long 
as he lived. On his death-bed he gave it to me. 
I promised him that I never would drink intoxicating 
liquor. And now, sir, for all the money your honor 
may be worth, a hundred times over, I would not 
break that promise." That boy's decision about drink 
was noble. Yes, and it did good too. As Mr. Hall 
stood there astonished, he screwed the top on to his 
flask, and flung it out into the water of the lake, near 
which they stood. 




DANIEL REFUSES TO EAT AT THE KING'S TABLE. 



424 BIBLE MODELS. 

Then he turned to the lad, and shook him warmly 
by the hand, saying, as he did so : 

"My boy ! that's the best temperance lecture I ever 
heard. I thank you for it. And now, by the help of 
God, I will never drink another drop of intoxicating 
liquor while I live." 

Daniel was a model of decision, and the second 
great benefit he found in his decision was, that it helped 
him to do good. 

The third great benefit which Daniel found from his 
decision was, that — it made him successful. 

He went to Babylon a poor boy, about sixteen or 
seventeen years old. But God blessed him for the 
decided way in which he always did, what he believed 
to be right. And this blessing brought success to 
Daniel, as it will do to everybody on whom it rests. He 
rose to one higher place after another, till he got to be 
— next to the king — the chief man in the nation. In 
the sixth chapter of Daniel, we read: "It pleased 
Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty 
princes, which should be over the whole kingdom. 
And over these three presidents, of whom Daniel was 
the first. Thus Daniel was preferred above the presi- 
dents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in 
him ; and the king sought to set him over the whole 
realm." And when we see Daniel rise to so high a 
position as this, we realize how very successful he was. 
And he continued to occupy this honorable position, 
under the reign of four successive kings of Babylon. 
That was very remarkable. This shows us how won- 
derful the success was which followed Daniel's deci- 
sion. 



DANIEL, THE MODEL OF DECISION. 425 

And we find illustrations of the same kind contin- 
ually. Let us look at some of these. We may begin 
with the story of a young man in Boston. He had 
never learned to be decided about doing what was 
right, and his failure to do this, brought ruin on him- 
self, and disgrace upon his family. He belonged to 
one of the first families of Boston. But he had cheated, 
and raised large sums of money in unjust ways. When 
his friends found this out, they advised him to leave 
the country, to save himself from being put in prison. 
He took passage on board a vessel that was to sail 
to a foreign country. Before the vessel sailed his 
father went down to the wharf to say "good-bye" to 
him. As they were shaking hands the. young man 
said: "Father, I owe all this trouble to you. One 
day, when I was a boy, you stood by looking on, as I 
was playing a game of marbles with another boy. 
You saw me cheat him, and win the game by doing 
so. Then you praised me for my success in winning 
the game. You never said a word to me about the 
wrong I had done in cheating my companion. That 
was the rock on which I have made shipwreck. From 
the way you acted then, I thought it was right to cheat, 
if I could gain success by it. This, was what led me 
to do all the wrong things that I have done. This is 
what has brought ruin on me, and disgrace on all the 
family. But the blame rests on you. You did it all!' 

Now here we see the failure and ruin, which came on 
that young man, because he had never learned to be de- 
cided in not doing what was wrong. For all the money 
in Boston I would not have been in that father's place. 

A Little Boys Decision. One day, a small boy 



426 BIBLE MODELS. 

entered a store. The merchant looked at him, and 
asked: "Well, my little man, what will you have to- 
day?" 

"Oh, please, sir, mayn't I do some work for you to- 
day !" 

"Do some work for me, eh? Well, what sort of 
work, can a little chap like you do ? Why, you can't 
look over the counter." 

"Oh, yes, I can, and I'm growing please, growing 
very fast — there, now, see if I can't look over the 
counter !" said the little fellow, raising himself up on 
his tiptoes. 

The merchant smiled, and then came round to the 
other side of the counter. 

"I thought I should have to get a magnifying-glass 
to see you ; but, I reckon if I get close enough, I can 
find out what you look like." 

"Oh, I'm older than I'm big, sir," said the boy. 
"Folks say I'm very small of my age. You see, sir, 
my mother hasn't anybody but me ; and this morning 
I saw her crying because she couldn't find five cents 
in her pocket-book. She thinks the boy that took 
the ashes stole it — and — I — haven't — had — any break- 
fast, sir." 

Then his voice choked, and his blue eyes were filled 
with tears. 

"I reckon I can help you to some breakfast, my 
little fellow," said the merchant, feeling in his vest- 
pocket. "Here — will this quarter do !" 

The boy shook his head, saying : 

"Thank you, sir, but my mother wouldn't let me beg, 
or take money, unless I did something for it." 



DANIEL, THE MODEL OF DECISION. 427 

"Indeed !" said the gentleman. "Andwhere's your 
father?" 

"He went to sea in the steamer City of Boston. 
The vessel was lost, and we never heard of him after 
that." 

"Ah! that was bad. But you are a plucky little 
fellow, and I like you. Let me see," and then, after 
thinking for a few moments, he called out to one of 
the clerks — "Saunders, is the cash-boy No. 4 still sick?" 

" He died last night, sir," was the reply. 

"Ah! I'm sorry to hear that. Well, here's a little 
fellow that can take his place. What wages did No. 4 
get?" 

"Three dollars a week, sir," replied the clerk. 

"Well, put this boy down for four dollars a week." 
Then turning to the astonished boy, he said, "There, 
my little fellow, go up to the clerk yonder, and tell 
him your name, and where you live ; and then run 
home and tell your mother, you've got a place at four 
dollars a week ; come back on Monday morning, and 
I'll tell you what to do. Here's a dollar in advance ; 
I'll take it out of your first week's wages. Now go." 

Little Tommy darted out of that store like an arrow. 
How he flew along the street ! How nimbly he 
mounted the creaking stairs that led to his mother's 
room ! As soon as he entered it, he ran across the 
room, clapping his hands, and jumping up and down, 
and crying out: "Mother! mother! I'm took! — I'm 
took ! I've got a place at four dollars a week. There's 
the first dollar to get something to eat with. And 
don't you ever cry again ; for I'm the man of the house 
now !" 



428 BIBLE MODELS. 

But Tommy's mother did cry then. And how could 
she help it ? She took the little fellow in her arms, 
and pressed him to her bosom. She wept tears of 
joy over him ; and then she kneeled down, and thanked 
God for giving her such a treasure of a boy. Now 
here we see how decided little Tommy was, in doing 
what is right ; and what success followed his decision. 

I have just one other story to tell. We may call it — 

The Stojy of a Grass hopper. If you ever go to 
London, of course, among the places of interest there, 
you will visit the public building known as — "The 
Royal Exchange." There is a cupola at the top of 
that building. Rising from that cupola is an iron rod, 
with a huge grasshopper on it, for a weather-vane. 
And there is an interesting story connected with that 
grasshopper. It is this : One day, more than three 
hundred years ago, a mother in England had an infant, 
a few months old, which she wanted to get rid of. So 
she wrapped it up in a shawl, and laid it down under 
a bush in a field, and left it there to die, unless some- 
body should find it, and take care of it. 

Shortly after, a little boy was coming home from 
school. As he passed by the place, he heard a grass- 
hopper chirping in the field. He stopped a moment 
to listen to it. Then he climbed over the fence to get 
it. But just as he was about to catch it he caught 
sight of the baby, which was close by. He let the 
grasshopper go ; and taking the baby in his arms, he 
carried it home to his mother. She took charge of 
the baby and brought him up. He turned out to be a 
good, pious boy. He was always decided in doing what 
he knew was right, and in not doing what was wrong. 



DANIEL, THE MODEL OF DECISION. 429 

When a young- man he went to London, and entered 
into business there. He was successful in business, 
and became rich. He was not only rich, but great. 
He was knighted, and is well known in English his- 
tory — as — Sir Thomas Gresham. The Royal Exchange 
was built in honor of him. And he had the grasshop- 
per put as a weather-vane on the top of it, in memory 
of the wonderful way in which, when an infant, his life 
was saved by the good providence of God. 

Now we have spoken of Daniel as a model of deci- 
sion. And we have seen the three great benefits that 
followed from his decision. The first was that — it kept 
him from doing wrong. The second was that, — it 
helped him to do good. The third was that, — it made 
him successful. Let us ask the Lord for grace to 
follow the model of decision which Daniel has set us, 
and then we shall share the same great benefits. 



GOD, THE MODEL GIVER. 



He giveth to all, life, and breath, and all things. 
Acts xvii : 25. 



!N the earlier part of this course of ser- 
mons, I had thought of taking Jacob as 
the model of giving. He is the first 
example we have in the Bible, of regu- 
lar, systematic giving. When God ap- 
peared to him at Bethel, as he was just beginning his 
long journey to the home of his uncle Laban, in the 
far-off country of Mesopotamia, Jacob was a poor man. 
He was then setting out in the world, as we say, " to 
seek his fortune." God promised to be with him, and 
bless him, and make him a rich man. This made 
Jacob feel very happy. He thanked God for his good- 
ness, and said : "Of all that Thou givest me I will surely 
give the tenth unto thee." This is a good example 
for giving. It is a proper thing for us to follow this 
example. I know some good Christian people who 
are in the habit of doing this. They set aside a tenth 
part of all the money they receive, and use it for 

charitable and religious purposes. They keep an 

43° 




LABAN ENGAGES JACOB.. 



432 BIBLE MODELS. 

account in their bank-book, which they call — "The 
O. P. J. Account," or the Old Patriarch Jacob ac- 
count. In this they enter the tenth part of all the money 
they receive, and keep it as a fund sacred to God, and 
His cause. Jacob is a good example of giving. But 
if we wish to have the best example here, we must let 
Jacob go, and look up to Jacob's God, and our God, 
as the best example that we can set before us, in the 
matter of giving. And this is just what the apostle 
is doing when he utters the words of our text. Here 
he tells us that God — "giveth to all, life, and breath, 
and all things." 

Here we have the best example of giving that can 
be named. Our subject now will be — " God — the Model 
Giver!' And there are three points in this model, of 
which I wish to speak. 

And the first thing to notice in God, when set before 
us, as our model in giving, is that He is — a cheerful 
— giver. 

Jesus said to His disciples: "Freely ye have 
received — freely give." But when He said they "re- 
ceived freely," He meant to show the way in which 
God gives. All that we receive we receive from Him. 
*<He giveth to all, life, and breath, and all things." 
And all that He gives, He gives freely. He gives us 
life. But when the baby first begins to live, what does 
it have to pay for its life? Nothing. He gives us 
breath ; and as we open our mouths to draw it in — 
what do we have to pay for it? Nothing. He gives 
us sunshine. And what do we have to pay for it? 
Nothing. He gives us pure, sparkling water from 
hundreds of springs and fountains, bubbling from the 



GOD, THE MODEL GIVER. 433 

earth ; and what do we have to pay for them ? Noth- 
ing. He sent His blessed Son to die for us, and to 
"open the kingdom of heaven to all believers ;" and 
what do we have to pay for Christ's entrance into our 
world, to save it ? Nothing - at all. What God gives 
to us, He gives freely. And this is the reason why 
God expects us to give as St. Paul says : " Not grudg- 
ingly, or of necessity; for God loveth a cheerful giver." 
He loves to have us give cheerfully, because this is 
the way in which He gives to us. God gives freely, 
or cheerfully, because He loves to give. And this is 
the only reason you can name why God gives at all. 
He is not obliged to give. If He should stop giving, 
no one could help it ; and no one would have right to 
complain. But He gives because He loves to give. 
And when we do anything from love, we always do 
it freely, or cheerfully. God is the model Giver, be- 
cause He gives cheerfully. And we find beautiful 
examples, of those who are trying to imitate the 
model of giving, which He sets before us, by giving 
cheerfully. Here are some illustrations of what I 
mean. 

The first illustration we may call — 

" The Dowry T A clergyman, in England, was sent 
for to visit a young girl who was very ill. She was 
the only child of a widowed mother. The illness 
proved fatal. But the dear child was a Christian, and 
died rejoicing in the thought that she was going to be 
with Jesus. Then she left her poor mother alone in the 
world. A few days after her daughter's death, the 
widow called at the minister's house, and asked to see 
him. After talking awhile about the death of her dear 

28 



434 BIBLE MODELS. 

daughter, she put into his hands a small parcel contain- 
ing some money, and asked him to please give it for 
helping to send the Gospel of Jesus to the heathen. 
He opened the parcel and found that it contained 
twenty pounds, or a hundred dollars in our money. 
The minister was surprised to find so large a sum. 
He knew that the poor widow had nothing but her 
needle to depend upon for her living. He tried to 
persuade her that this was too much for her to give, 
and that she ought to take it back, and use it for her 
own support. She declined to take it back, and said : 
" Please sir, let me explain to you how I came to have 
so much money. When my child was born, I said to 
myself, ' Perhaps she'll live to get married, some of 
these days. Then I should like to have something to 
give her, as a dowry, or marriage portion.' So I 
thought I would begin to put by, what I could spare, 
from time to time against that day. I began with six- 
pence. Now it amounts to twenty pounds. You 
know what has happened, sir, within the last week. 
Well, I thought to myself, the Lord Jesus has come, 
as the heavenly Bridegroom. He has taken my dear 
daughter, to the bright home above, to be His bride. 
And so I thought, that as He has taken the bride, it is 
only right that he should have the bride's portion." 
This brought tears to the minister's eyes. He made 
no more objection, but took the money, and used it as 
the widowed mother desired. That was cheerful 
giving. 

The Baptized Pocket-Book. Some time ago a rich 
merchant, who was going to join a Baptist church, 
was about to be baptized in the river near the village 




THE WIDOW'S MITE. 



436 BIBLE MODELS. 

by immersion, or plunging- the whole body under 
water. One of his friends, who saw his pocket-book 
in his pocket, suggested that he had better take it out, 
before going down into the water. But he shook his 
head and said, "No: no: I want my pocket-book to 
be baptized too !" 

He meant by this, to say, that he wished it to be 
understood, that all his money, and everything he had, 
belonged to God. There are too many people who 
get baptized themselves, but their pocket-books are 
not baptized. They do not feel as if all that they have 
belongs to God. When people do feel in this way, 
and really have their pocket-books baptized, they will 
be cheerful givers. 

Give, and It Shall be Given. "Cheerful giving," 
writes an aged minister, " is what God loves, and 
what brings down His blessing on the giver." And 
then he gives this illustration of the truth of his state- 
ment : 

"A poor clergyman attended the annual gathering 
of the church to which he belonged, in a city far off 
from his own home. The railway company had sup- 
plied him with a return ticket. But when he attended 
the last meeting that was held, which was a missionary 
meeting, he found that a twenty-five cent piece was 
all the money he had left ; and he would need more 
than that, to get himself something to eat on the long 
journey home. But he was a cheerful giver. And 
when the collection was taken up, he opened his purse, 
and threw in his last twenty-five cent piece. He gave 
it — cheerfully. 

After the meeting was over he was invited, with a 




THE INFANT JESUS AND HIS MOTHER. 



438 BIBLE MODELS. 

number of the other clergy, to go home and dine, 
with a rich merchant, who belonged to the church. 
While they were at dinner, the gentleman of the house 
was called out of the room for a little while. When 
the dinner was over he spoke to the minister, of whom 
I am now telling, and asked him to come with him 
into the next room. When they were alone he said 
to the poor minister: "I was called from the table at 
dinner-time, by a man who has long owed me a small 
debt. I never expected to get it, and looked upon it 
as lost money. I don't know why he should have 
called just now, to pay me that old debt ; except it be 
that the Lord wants me to give it to you. And so I 
beg you will accept it." And he thrust the envelope 
containing the money into his hands. This was all 
done so kindly, that the minister could not refuse to 
take what was offered to him. He took it, and thanked 
the good gentleman for his kindness. And when he 
was alone, and had an opportunity of looking into the 
envelope, he found to his surprise that it contained — 
twenty-five dollars. Thus God rewarded him a hun- 
dredfold, for the cheerfulness with which he gave away 
his last twenty-five cents. This shows us how true it 
is — that "God loves a cheerful giver." 

Given to the Poor, Lent to the Lord. A worthy min- 
ister in New England, was appealed to for help, one 
morning, by a poor man, whom he knew very well. 
He asked his wife to give the poor fellow a trifle. 
She went to their money-bag, and found that forty- 
eight cents, were all they had left in the world. She 
gave the bag to her husband, and he gave the pennies 
to the poor man. 



GOD, THE MODEL GIVER. 439 

"Well, my dear," said the wife, "we haven't a single 
cent left for ourselves." 

"Have faith in God, dear wife," said the minister. 
"If he sees best, how easily He could give us forty- 
eight dollars in place of those forty-eight cents." 
This minister was a cheerful giver. He loved to give. 
Now let us see what came of it. 

About an hour after this, a friend of the minister's, 
who was very well off, and who lived some miles away, 
called to see him, with his servant. They had come 
to town on business. He stopped at the minister's 
house to get something to eat. But he noticed, while 
he was taking his lunch, how sad, and downcast the 
good minister's wife seemed. He inquired the reason ; 
but she avoided giving an answer, and soon left the 
room. Then the gentleman asked his friend, the min- 
ister if they were in want of money? He smiled, but 
said nothing. 

As soon as the gentleman was alone with his ser- 
vant, he asked him if he had any money with him, and 
how much ? They both looked into their pocket-books, 
to see what they had with them. The gentleman found 
that he had just forty-five dollars in his purse, and his 
servant had three. He wished very much, that one, or 
the other of them had two dollars more, so that they 
could have made up the round sum of fifty dollars. 
But this was all they had with them. Then the gentle- 
man took the forty-eight dollars, and gave them to his 
friend the minister, saying: "I feel sure, my friend, 
that you are short of money. I would like to have 
made it up to fifty dollars ; but this is really all we 
have with us." 



44-0 BIBLE MODELS. 

The minister was overcome with surprise and joy. 
He counted the money out on the table, and then, 
calling in his wife, said to her ; 

"Look here, my dear, and see how soon that which 
I spoke of, as a thing, which God could do for us, has 
been done. He did not wait even till the day was 
past, but through our kind friend here, has sent us 
forty-eight dollars, for the forty-eight cents we gave to 
that poor man this morning." 

Then they told their friend all about it ; and he 
was delighted to find that he had neither more nor 
less, than what was just sufficient to repay the good 
minister a hundredfold, for what he had so cheerfully 
given to the poor man that morning. 

This is a good illustration of the truth of the lines, 
which some one has written about giving, and which 
read thus : 

"Is thy cruse of comfort wasting? 

Rise, and share it with another ; 
And through all the years of famine, 

It shall serve thee and thy brother. 
God Himself will fill thy storehouse, 

Or thy handful still renew ; 
Scanty fare for one, will often 

Make a royal feast for two." 

God is a cheerful giver, and we should try to follow, 
in this respect, the model he sets before us. 

But, in the second place, God is — a valuable — giver, 
as well as a cheerful giver. 

And on this account too, we may well speak of Him 
as the model giver. 

How nicely the words of our text come in to illus- 




JESUS PARTING FROM HIS MOTHER. 



44 2 BIBLE MODELS. 

trate this point! "He giveth to all, life, and breath, 
and all things." What a valuable gift, the gift of life 
is ! This is so valuable, that no one, in all the universe, 
has the power to bestow it in any case, but God him- 
self. Wherever life is found existing, from the might- 
iest archangel to the tiniest insect, it is there as the 
gift of God. All the wisest, and best, and greatest 
men that ever lived could not bestow the gift of life 
on any creature. All the angels of heaven could not 
give life to the smallest worm, or insect. The life of 
an angel — the life of a human being — or of any meaner 
creature — is what none but God can give. But " He 
giveth to all — life!' And life is one of the most val- 
uable gifts that God bestows. It is so valuable, that 
it is quite true, as we read in the book of Job — "all 
that a man hath will he give for his life." 

And then God gives the breath, by which life is 
sustained. Yes, and He gives — "all things" that help 
to make life pleasant, and happy. There is one pass- 
age in which Jesus spoke more beautifully about the 
value of God's gifts, than in any other to be found in 
the Bible. I refer here to the words spoken by Jesus 
to Nicodemus, when He said : "God so loved the world, 
that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever 
believeth in Him, should not perish ; but have ever- 
lasting life." John iii : 16. If all the Bibles in the 
world were going to be destroyed, and I was called 
upon to choose one verse from the Bible, as the only 
one which could be preserved, I think I would take 
this, in preference to any other. We have the glorious 
Gospel of Jesus in a nutshell here. This verse de- 
serves to be written in letters of gold, and hung up in 




JESUS ON THE MOUNT. 



444 BIBLE MODELS. 

public places, so that every one might see it, and read 
it. There is nothing in the Bible, which shows us what 
a valuable giver God is, so well as this verse does. 
He is indeed a model giver, because his gifts are so 
valuable. And we should try to follow His example 
in this respect. And when we give that which helps 
to make Jesus and his salvation known to poor lost 
men, then we are following the model of giving which 
God sets us — and are giving valuable gifts. 

Let us look at some examples of this sort of giving. 
The first illustration I have under this head, is a very 
nice one. It may be called — 

" The Consecrated Diamonds T This story is told 
of the Princess Eugenia of Sweden. She is an earn- 
est Christian lady, and has for years been trying to do 
good among her people. She spends her summers 
at a beautiful home on the Island of Gothland. When 
there, she is accustomed to spend a good deal of her 
time in visiting among the poor. While doing this, she 
became very much interested in behalf of a number 
of poor women, who were suffering from complaints 
which could not be cured. And she felt the more for 
these poor sisters in their sorrow, because she herself 
was suffering in the same way. After thinking over 
it a good while, the idea came into her mind, how nice 
it Would be to have a hospital home, for those poor 
women. Yes, indeed ! but where was the money to 
come from ! She was a princess, it is true, but she 
was already engaged in so many works, that all the 
money she could spare from her income was spent, 
and it would take a good deal to build this hospital. 
Still she kept on thinking about it, and wishing that 



GOD, THE MODEL GIVER. 445 

it could be done. And you know the old proverb 
says : " Where there s a will, there s a way." And so 
it proved here. 

One day, while thinking about it, the question came 
into her mind : "Why can't I sell my set of diamonds 
for this purpose?" She asked God to guide her. 
Then she consulted her brother — the King of Sweden 
— about it. He gave his consent. 

The diamonds were sent to London, for the Swed- 
ish ambassador to sell them. They were sold for 
many thousands of dollars. The money was sent 
back to the princess. The hospital home was built, 
and filled with poor sick women. 

Several years passed away. The summer was 
drawing to a close. The time had come for the prin- 
cess to leave her summer retreat, for her winter home 
in the city. She was going through the hospital to 
say — "Good-by" to the patients. As she. entered 
one of the rooms, the matron pointed to a particular 
bed, saying : "The old woman who occupies that bed, 
used to be the hardest of all our patients to manage. 
Please speak a few kind words to her. You will find 
her wonderfully changed now." 

The princess went to this bed, and spoke to the 
sufferer, who was now very near her end. These 
were the poor woman's words to her: "I thank God 
that the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth from 
all sin — and that He has cleansed mine!' As she said 
this the tears were running fast down her cheeks. 
They were the tears of gladness which told of the 
gratitude she felt to Jesus for His love. The light 
of heaven was glistening in them. In speaking of 



446 BIBLE MODELS. 

them afterwards the princess said: "In those tears I 
saw my diamonds again." That is true. Yes ! and 
when Jesus shall give her the crown of glory, which 
she will wear forever in heaven, she will see those 
diamonds, in that crown, sparkling more beautifully 
than any ever seen in an earthly crown. It was a 
valuable gift, which the Princess Eugenia gave, when 
she sold her diamonds in order to build that hospital. 

"Yes," some of you may be ready to say, "it's all 
very well for princesses, and those who have jewels 
to sell, or plenty of money, to give valuable gifts. But 
if you have no money to give, and no jewels to sell ; 
then what are you to do?" Now I have two short 
stories here, which answer this question, and show that 
it is possible to give valuable gifts, even when we have 
very little money, or no money at all. 

One of these stories is about a boy ; and the other 
is about a girl. The boy's story is called — 

The Bag of Farthings. They were taking up their 
anniversary collection, one day, at a Sunday-school in 
England, when a little boy, about seven years old, 
put a bag on the plate, that felt quite heavy. The 
collector opened it, and found that it contained two 
hundred and eighty-five farthings ! And where do 
you think the little fellow got all those farthings ? He 
hadn't found them ; he hadn't begged them. No; but 
he had earned them. And how ! Why, his mother 
was a poor widow, and kept a little store. He used 
to run errands for his mother, and she let him keep 
all the farthinors he received in chancre at the different 
stores, to which he went. Instead of spending these 
farthings in buying candy, or fruit, or playthings, he 



GOD, THE MODEL GIVER. 447 

kept them till their anniversary day came, and then he 
put them in the collection, which they always had on 
those occasions, for the missionary cause. That bag 
of farthings made up about six shillings of English 
money. They would make about a dollar and a half 
in our money. It was a valuable gift which that little 
boy offered in his bag of farthings. 

And now for the girl's story. We may call it — 
What Mary Gave. She had no money to give, not 
even farthings. But notice now, what she did give, in 
one day. She gave an hour of patient care to her 
little baby sister, who was cutting her teeth. She gave 
a string, and a crooked pin, to her little three-year old 
brother, who wanted to play at fishing. She gave 
Ellen, the maid, an hour's time to go and visit her 
baby at home ; for Ellen was a widow, and she left 
her child with its grandmother, while she worked to 
get bread for them both. She could not have seen 
them very often, if this kind-hearted Mary had not 
offered to mind the door, and look after the fire, while 
she was away. 

But this was not all that Mary gave. She dressed 
herself neatly, and was so bright, and kind and oblig- 
ing, that every time her mother looked at her pleasant 
young face, it made her heart glad. Then she wrote 
a letter to her father, who was absent from home, in 
which she gave him all the news about the family, in 
such a cheery, pleasant way, that the letter made him 
perfectly happy, and he thanked his dear daughter in 
his heart. And then she listened patiently to her poor 
old grandmother, while she told one of her long and 
tiresome stories. Mary had heard the story many 



448 BIBLE MODELS. 

times before ; but she listened as attentively as if it 
was all new. She laughed at the proper places, and 
when the story was ended, she made the old lady quite 
happy with a good-night kiss. 

Now here was a little girl, who had no diamonds to 
sell, and not a penny in the world to give, but yet who 
gave valuable presents to six people, in one day, that 
helped to make them all happy. 

God, the model giver, may well be so called because 
He bestows valuable gifts on His creatures ; and if we 
try to imitate this part of the model He sets before us, 
whether we have much money, or little, or none at all, 
we shall find out many ways, in which, like little Mary, 
we shall be able to give valuable gifts, that will make 
those around us happy. 

And then, in the third place, we may speak of God, 
as the model giver — because He gives — self-denying — 
gifts. 

God is so great, and so rich ; He has such an 
abundance of everything, that we do not think of what 
He gives as involving any self-denial on His part. And 
it is true that when He gives life, and breath, and such 
like things, they do not cost Him self-denial. But, 
when He gives the blessings of His grace, and His 
salvation, then, He is giving us that which cost Him 
more than we can ever tell. Before the least of these 
blessings, could be bestowed on us, it was necessary 
for God to give up His only begotten Son to death ; 
even the death of the cross. This is what the apostle 
Paul teaches us, when he says: "He that spared not 
His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how 
shall He not with him also, freely give us all things?" 




JESUS BEARS THE CROWN OP THORNS. 



450 BIBLE MODELS. 

When God gave His Son for our redemption, He 
gave Him to be out of heaven, and away from His 
own bosom, for more than thirty years. He gave him 
to pass through untold sufferings, — and to die a dread- 
ful death, of shame and agony. And this was a gift 
that involved such self-denial as we can never know. 
And we may well speak of Him, as "the Model Giver," 
because when He bestows upon us the blessings of 
His grace, and Gospel, He is giving us that which cost 
Him wonderful self-denial. 

And we should try to imitate "the Model Giver," 
in this respect, when we give. 

We have a good example of this kind of giving, in 
King David. When the pestilence was prevailing 
among the people, and they were dying by thousands, 
he was directed to go to a certain place, and offer a 
sacrifice. When he arrived there, he found Auraunah, 
the owner of the ground, engaged in ploughing. As 
soon as he found out what the king had come there to 
do, he generously offered him the oxen that he was 
ploughing with, for a burnt sacrifice, and proposed to 
break up the yoke on the neck of the oxen, and the 
plough they were using, for fire-wood. And he offered 
to give these to the king, freely, without any charge. 
The king thanked him for his kind offer, but said he 
would accept his offer only on one condition ; and that 
was, that he should be allowed to pay for his oxen, 
and the things to be used for fuel, because he said he 
was not willing — "to make an offering to God of that 
which cost him nothing!' David was imitating "the 
Model Giver," when he did this. 

Jamie Weston s Half Dollar. Jamie Weston had 



GOD, THE MODEL GIVER. 45 1 

fifty cents in his pocket, of his own earnings. He 
never had so much money of his own before, and he 
felt very rich. He saw his Cousin Sue coming towards 
him, and said to himself — "I must tell Sue how rich 
I am." But Sue had something to tell him ; and be- 
fore he had a chance to speak — "Jamie," she said, 
"I'm making up a box of nice things, to send to the 
missionaries. Have you anything to put in ?" 

Jamie hesitated a moment, and then said : 

"I've got fifty cents, that I earned myself; take 
them and put something into the box for me." 

And then, thrusting his chubby hand into his now 
empty pocket, Jamie hastened home. 

His mother was a poor widow woman, who had a 
very hard time to get food and clothing for her 
children. 

When Jamie came into the little cottage, where his 
mother was busy sewing, he said: "Mamma, I've 
given my half dollar to Cousin Sue, to buy something 
for the box she is making up for the missionaries." 

Mrs. Weston stopped sewing when she heard this. 
Jamie saw the tears come into her eyes, as she said : 
" Oh, Jamie, I'm sorry you have done this ! I wanted 
that money to help buy you a new jacket. The one 
you are wearing is old and thin, and I'm afraid you 
will suffer from the cold this winter." 

Jamie threw his arms round his mother's neck, and 
said : " Don't cry, mother ; God has always taken care 
of us ; and He will send me a jacket, I'm sure." 

In the afternoon, when Susie's work on the box was 
done, she sat down to tell her mother all about it. 

"And mother, only think, Jamie Weston gave me 



45 2 BIBLE MODELS. 

fifty cents, that he had earned himself, and that he was 
saving towards buying himself a winter jacket. I wish 
you could have seen his black eyes sparkle, when I 
told him about the box. I didn't want to take his 
money, when I found what he had been saving it for. 
But he made me take it, for he said, 'The heathen 
need the Gospel more than I need a jacket ; and I'm 
sure God won't let me freeze this winter.' And then 
I took it." 

"Let him freeze!" said Susie's mother, who was 
very much interested in what Susie had said about 
Jamie. " Of course not. I'll see to that. I'll send 
him a jacket this very evening. Yes, and not a 
jacket only, but a full suit, made out of the very best 
cloth in town." 

And so it happened, that just as Jamie was lighting 
the lamp in their little room, that night, and drawing 
up the chairs around the fireplace, there came a rap 
at the door. When Jamie opened the door, a parcel 
was handed him, on which was written in plain letters, 
" For Master James Weston." 

"What can it be, mamma?" he asked, with great 
wonder, as he laid the bundle on the table. It was 
soon opened, and was found to contain material for a 
full suit of nice, warm winter clothes. 

Jamie fairly danced for joy. Tears of gladness 
filled his mother's eyes. Jamie threw his arms lovingly 
round her neck, and said softly to her — " I asked God 
for a jacket, mamma, when I gave the fifty cents for 
the missionary box ; and I felt sure that it would come 
some time; but I didn't expect it so soon." 

Now Jamie Weston was imitating the example of 




THE PRODIGAL SON RETURNS TO HIS FATHER 



454 BIBLE MODELS. 

"the Model Giver." What he gave involved self- 
denial on his part. 

The Gold Dollar. A Secretary of the American 
Board of Missions, was once visiting in a town in 
Maine. He had held a meeting in one of the churches 
in that town one evening, and had given a very inter- 
esting account of the missionary work in heathen 
lands. 

The next day, a little boy in the family where he 
was staying, came up to him, and began to talk to 
him. As he did so, the gentleman noticed that his 
right hand was clasped closely, as though he was hold- 
ing something in it, very carefully. 

" I want very much," said the little fellow, " to have 
a sled. Johnny has one, and Charley has one ; but I 
haven't any, and I want one very much." 

" I know boys are very fond of sleds," said the gen- 
tleman. " Both my boys have one, and they think a 
great deal of them. I hope you'll soon be able to get 
one." 

He thought this little fellow wanted to beg from 
him the money to buy a sled with. But that was not 
what he wanted. For presently he held out his hand, 
and unclasped it ; and there, lying on the palm of it, 
was a bright, gold dollar. 

"I have been saving this gold dollar to get a sled 
with," said he; "but after hearing what you said about 
the heathen last night, I feel sure that they need mis- 
sionaries to tell them about Jesus, more than I need 
a sled. And so I have made up my mind to do without 
a sled, and give my gold dollar to the Missionary 
Society." 



GOD, THE MODEL GIVER. 455 

The Secretary was very much touched with the 
speech, and the offering- of the dear boy. He thanked 
him for his gift, and said he hoped he might soon have 
a nice sled given to him. He used to tell this story at 
missionary meetings, and he would wind up with say- 
ing : " Ah ! my friends, if all Christian people would 
only learn to deny themselves, as this dear boy did, that 
they might have something to give to the cause of 
Jesus, how soon all the money needed for missionary 
work would be furnished !" 

God, the model Giver, denied Himself, by giving 
His Son to die for us ; and we should strive to imi- 
tate the model He sets for us, by giving in the same 
way. 

And now we have spoken of three points in the 
model of giving which God sets before us. He is — a 
cheerfid Giver — a valuable Giver — and a self-denying 
Giver. 

Let us take this model, and keep it before us, till we 
learn to give according to it. Then we shall be such 
givers as God desires us to be. Then God will accept 
our gifts. They will do good to others, and will come 
back in great blessings to ourselves. 



JOHN THE BAPTIST, THE MODEL OF 
GREATNESS. 



He shall be great in the sight of the Lord." — 
Luke i : 15. 




GABRIEL, the angel, was sent by God to 
speak the above words to Zacharias the 
priest, the father of John the Baptist. 
It was in the temple at Jerusalem, while 
he was offering incense before the altar, 
that the angel appeared to him. He told him that he 
was about to have a son, and that he must call his 
name — John. Then he told him what sort of work 
he was to do. He was to go before Christ — the Mes- 
siah, as the morning star goes before the sun, to 
prepare His way before Him. And then he told him 
what sort of a man he should be : "He shall be great 
in the sight of the Loroiy 

And when our Saviour was on earth, in speaking 
of John the Baptist, one day, He said : "Of them that 
are born of women, there hath not risen a greater than 
John the Baptist." The angel Gabriel, and Jesus, the 

lord of the angels, both spoke of John the Baptist in 

456 




THE ANGEL GABRIEL APPEARS TO ZACHARIAS. 



458 BIBLE MODELS. 

the highest terms. They show us that, up to the time 
in which he lived, he was really the greatest man the 
world had known. And in view of what is thus said 
about him, when we come to put John the Baptist 
among the "Bible Models," we may well speak of 
him as — 

The Model of Greatness. And in studying this 
model, there are two points of view from which we may 
look at it. One of these is — the negative view of it, 
or in what John's greatness did not consist. The other 
is — the positive view of it, or in what John's greatness 
did consist. 

And in looking at this model from the negative point 
of view, there are three things to speak of. The first 
is, that — 

John's greatness did not consist in long life. He was 
born about six months before our Saviour. He lived 
a private life, till he was thirty years of age. This 
was the age at which the Jewish priests and prophets, 
generally began their work in public. And it was at 
this age that John began his work, as the forerunner 
of Christ. He came among his countrymen, crying 
aloud : " Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at 
hand." He told them of the coming of the long-prom- 
ised Messiah — the Saviour of the world ; thus he pre- 
pared the way before him. He began to preach, 
about six months before Jesus entered on his ministry ; 
and he went on telling the people about Him, and 
pointing them to Him, for about a year longer. Then 
he was beheaded by the wicked Herod ; and that was 
the end of John's ministry. About eighteen months 
was all the time he had to work for Jesus. And yet 




JOHN THE BAPTIST PREACHES IN THE WILDERNESS. 



460 BIBLE MODELS. 

the angel said he should be — "great in the sight of 
the Lord." And he was thus great. But then we see 
that it was — not long life which made John the Baptist 
great. 

Two things that helped to make John great, were — 
doing what he knew was right, and bringing souls to 
Jesus. And these things will make any one great in 
God's sight. But it does not require long life to do 
these things. 

Here are some incidents to show how they may be 
done by very young persons. 

Our first story may be called — 

The Brave Boy. A little bootblack was standing 
near the entrance of a city hotel, waiting patiently for 
a job. Presently two fashionably-dressed young men 
came out of the hotel, smoking their cigars, and stood 
near the boy. 

"Here, Boots," said one of them, placing his foot on 
the boy's box, and saying as he did so : "let's see if 
you are master of your trade." 

The bootblack plied his brush with diligence and 
skill, and the boot was beginning to brighten under 
his ready touch. In the meantime the young men 
were trying to frighten him to make more haste, by 
swearing at him. The little fellow stood it as long 
he could. But, when one boot was finished, he 
stopped, and put his brushes in the box where he 
carried them. 

"What now?" asked the young man. 

"I won't finish your boots," answered the boy. 

"Not finish them!" said the young man, with a 
dreadful oath ; "then you won't get any money." 



JOHN THE BAPTIST, THE MODEL OF GREATNESS. 46 1 

"I don't want your money," said the boy, "and I 
won't stay here and listen to your swearing." 

"Let the boy alone," said the other young man, 
"and let him finish his job." 

"Well and good," said the first speaker, "but it's a 
rare joke to find a bootblack who is afraid of swear- 
ing." 

"I can't afford to swear," said the bootblack, look- 
ing reverently up to heaven. 

"Do you mean to say that it costs anything to 
swear?" asked the young man in astonishment. 

"Yes, sir," replied the bootblack, in an earnest, 
solemn manner: "it would cost me my soul." Now it 
was noble in that little boy to stand up so bravely in 
behalf of what was right. That would make him, 
like John the Baptist — "great in the sight of the 
Lord." It does not require long life to secure this 
sort of greatness. Doing what is right will make us 
great in God's sight. 

And then — bringing souls to Jesus will make us 
great in God's sight. This was what John was doing 
all the days of his public ministry. And it was this 
which made him "great in the sight of the Lord." 
But children may do this as well as older people. 

Here is a story about — 

A Drunken Father Brought to Jesus by his 
Daughter s Sunday-school Hymn. A few years ago, 
in a city of Scotland, there lived a man, the father of 
a family, who was considered the wickedest man in 
that neighborhood. He seldom opened his mouth 
without uttering a terrible oath, and using the vilest 
language. His companions were the worst men to 



462 BIBLE MODELS. 

be found in the city. He was constantly drunk. 
He frequently beat his poor wife and children, and 
was the terror of all the people who lived near him. 
Late one Saturday night, he returned to his miserable 
home, perfectly wild with drink, and after swearing, 
and storming, and creating a terrible disturbance, he 
sank down upon his wretched bed and fell asleep. 

He woke about eleven o'clock on Sunday morning, 
and called for more drink, with furious oaths. His 
sorrowing wife, fearing his ill treatment, was afraid to 
speak to him ; but his little daughter Jenny, who was 
only eight years old, went up to him timidly, and said : 
"We haven't any money, father, and there is nothing 
in the house for dinner." Her mind was full of a 
sweet hymn she had learned at Sunday-school, and 
she said : "May I sing to you, father?" 

"Yes," he replied, "you may sing if you like, but 
I want more drink." 

With a quivering voice, which grew stronger and 
sweeter, as she went on, she sang : 

' ' I am so glad that our Father in heaven 
Tells of His love in the Book He has given ; 
Wonderful things in the Bible I see; 
This is the sweetest — that Jesus loves me. 

I am so glad that Jesus loves, 

Jesus loves me — even me." 

When she had finished the hymn — "That is very 
sweet," he said ; "you may sing it again." 

As she was singing it the second time, the scalding 
tears began to trickle down her father's cheeks ; he 
covered his face with his hands, and as soon as she 
stopped, he cried out : " Oh, Jenny ! do you think that 



JOHN THE BAPTIST, THE MODEL OF GREATNESS. 463 

Jesus loves me? Can He love such a wretch as I am? 
Will He love — even tneT' Presently he fell upon his 
knees, and, for the first time in his life, the cry went up 
from his lips — " God be merciful to me a sinner !" 

His prayer was heard. That miserable, drunken, 
swearing man, became an humble, earnest, useful Chris- 
tian. What a change came over that family ! And 
how often, in after years, he thanked God that his little 
Jenny had been a Sunday-school scholar ! 

Our Saviour has told us that one soul is worth more 
than the whole world. To be the means of saving a 
soul, is one of the greatest works that can be done. 
And so, when little Jenny was the means of bringing 
her father to Jesus, she did a great work. And 
though only eight years old, she was — "great in the 
sight of the Lord," as John the Baptist was. This 
greatness does not require long life. 

In the next place, this greatness does not require — 
great riches. 

John the Baptist was a poor man. We see this in 
the clothes he wore, when he began his ministry, and 
in the food on which he lived. We are told by St. 
Matthew (iii. 41), that — "John had his raiment of 
camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins ; 
and his meat was locusts and wild honey." This was 
just the kind of food and clothing which the poorest 
people of that country had. John owned no land. 
He never had a house of his own to live in. He had 
no money, with which to buy anything that was costly 
or expensive. And yet, in spite of his poverty, John 
was — "great in the sight of the Lord." And this 
sort of greatness we may all have, if we serve God 



464 BIBLE MODELS. 

as John did. Some men are rich without being great ; 
and some are great without being rich. 

Let us take one example of a man who was rich but 
not great, in the true sense. I refer here to the late 
William M. Tweed, of the city of New York. He was 
one of the richest men in that great city. He used to 
be called Boss Tweed, because he had the control of 
almost everything that was done in the government of 
the city. But he was an utterly bad man. Yet he felt 
so secure in his position, that if any one spoke to him 
about his wicked ways, he would say : " Well, and what 
are you going to do about it?" He felt as if he was 
perfectly safe in his position, and that nobody could 
touch him. But finally, the law took hold of him, and 
he was put in prison. He lost all his money. He 
died in prison ; but before his death he made this sad 
confession — " My life has been a failure in everything. 
There is nothing that I am proud of." That is a sad 
illustration of a man. who was rich, but not great. 

And now let us take one or two examples of per- 
sons who were great, without being rich. The first we 
may call — 

A Servant Girl's Greatness. One of the best and 
greatest men in England to-day is the Earl of Shafts- 
bury. He is well known through all the country, as 
the helper of the poor and the oppressed. He takes 
an active part in every good work. He has been for 
years, and still is, a blessing to the whole country: and 
every one who knows him is always ready to speak his 
praises. He is not only very good, and great, but also 
very rich ; and he uses his riches to help others in 
many ways. But the Earl of Shaftsbury owes all his 



JOHN THE BAPTIST, THE MODEL OF GREATNESS. 465 

goodness and his greatness, under God, to a poor ser- 
vant girl. When he was an infant, his mother had a 
faithful servant girl in her family, whose name was 
Mary Millas. His mother appointed Mary to be the 
nurse of the young Earl, and gave her the entire 
charge of him. She knew what an important position 
he would have to occupy when he grew to be a man, 
and she made up her mind to be faithful to the great 
trust committed to her charge. She felt very much as 
the mother of Moses did, when ' iod, through Pharaoh's 
daughter, said to her — " Take this child away, and nurse 
it for me, and I will give thee thy wages." She was an 
earnest Christian, and she determined to do all in her 
power, to make that child a follower of Jesus. She 
prayed for him continually, with all her heart. She 
set before him a good example. As soon as he was 
able to learn, she taught him in a simple and attract- 
ive way, the story about Jesus, and the truth wrapped 
up in that story. She kept on doing this very faith- 
fully till the young Earl was seven years old, and then 
she died. But the seed she had sown so carefully in 
his heart, took root there, and sprang up, and brought 
forth abundant fruit. He never forgot the example 
she had set before him, and the lessons she had taught 
him, in those early years of his life. He became a 
Christian, when he was quite young. He grew up in 
the way in which he had been so early led. And now 
for years, he has been known, and honored, all through 
England. No one can tell how much eood he has 
been the means of doing. But the faithful work 
which Mary Millas did for the young Earl, was the 
cause of it all. She was truly great, in what she did 



466 BIBLE MODELS. 

for him. And we may well speak of that poor ser- 
vant girl, as an example of greatness without riches. 

I have one other example of a man who was great 
without being rich. We may call it — 

A Beautiful Father. Two little boys came as new 
scholars to a mission school, in one of our large cities. 
They behaved very nicely ; and at the close of school 
the teacher said to them : "Well, when you get home 
you can tell your mother that you have been very 
good boys to-day." 

" Please, ma'am," said one of the little fellows, whose 
name was Tommy, "we haven't any mother." 

"Ah, indeed !" said the teacher ; " then pray tell me 
who takes such good care of you ? for your clothes 
look very nice." 

" Father does," said Tommy. "We've got such a 
beautiful father ! Oh, ma'am, you ought to see him !" 

" But who takes care of you when he is at work?" 
asked the teacher. 

" Why, father takes all the care of us before he goes 
off in the morning, and after he comes back at night. 
He's a house-painter, but there isn't any work this 
winter, so he's doing laboring-work till spring comes. 
He says he won't let us eat charity food, and wear 
other people's old clothes, while he is well and strong. 
He leaves us a warm breakfast when he ofoes off; 
then we have bread and milk for dinner, and a good 
warm supper when he comes home at night. Then 
he tells us stories, and plays on the fife, and whittles 
out pretty things for us with his jack-knife. Oh, you 
ought to see our home, and our father — they are both 
so beautiful !" 



JOHN THE BAPTIST, THE MODEL OF GREATNESS. 467 

The teacher said she would come and see them in 
their home, as soon as she could. Before long she 
found time to do so. She called one day to see that 
home and that father. 

The room was a poor garret room. But it was per- 
fectly neat and clean. It was ornamented with cheap 
pictures, and autumn leaves, and other nice little 
things that cost nothing. 

When the teacher called at the children's home, it 
was at the close of the day. The father was busy at 
the time preparing the evening meal for his motherless 
little ones. As the lady first looked at him, there 
seemed to be nothing pleasing about him. He was a 
rough-looking man. His clothes were old, and coarse, 
and stained with paint. But, before she had been 
very long there, that garret room seemed to be turned 
into a palace ; and the teacher thought that rough- 
looking working-man, appeared to her almost like an 
angel. His children did not know that they were 
poor. And indeed they were not, with such a brave 
and loving father to take care of them, and to fight 
the battles of life for them. There were no rich man's 
children in that city, who were really happier, than were 
the children of that rough, hard-working laboring-man. 

If he could not get work at his trade, he was ready 
to saw wood, or sweep the. streets, or do anything to 
provide for his children, rather than let them live on 
charity. And his cheerful spirit spread sunshine round 
his home, which would otherwise have been dark and 
gloomy. He was training his boys to be honest, indus- 
trious, and useful, as they grew up ; and was teaching 
them how, as the catechism says, they were to — " do 



468 BIBLE MODELS. 

their duty in that state of life, in which it might please 
God to call them." And any man who acts, as this 
humble house-painter did, though he may have no 
riches, will yet, like John the Baptist — "be great in the 
sight of the Lord." 

But again, the greatness of John the Baptist did 
not consist of "the honor that cometJi from man." Men 
often call persons great, when they are really not so 
at all. 

There was a famous person, of whom we read in 
history. He lived in the time of Henry VIII. , King 
of England, and was known as Cardinal Woolsey. 
He was a poor boy, the son of a butcher. But he got 
into college. He entered the ministry. He was rector 
of several churches. He became a favorite with King 
Henry VIII., who made him his Prime Minister. Then 
he was made Bishop ; then Archbishop of York ; then 
he was made Lord Chancellor; and finally the pope 
of Rome appointed him Cardinal — which was the high- 
est office he had in his power to give to any one. 
Thus Cardinal Woolsey had all the honor that cometh 
from man. But what good did it do him ? In a single 
day he lost it all, and all his riches too, and died — a 
poor, miserable, heart-broken creature. And just be- 
fore he died, he is said to have spoken these words to 
a friend who was near him-: 

" O Cromwell ! Cromwell ! had I but served my God 
With half the zeal with which I've served my king, 
He would not now have forsaken me." 

The greatness of John the Baptist was very different 
from that of Cardinal Woolsey. Men had nothing to 



JOHN THE BAPTIST, THE MODEL OF GREATNESS. 469 

do with it. He was great in the sight of the Lord. 
And this is the only greatness that is worth having. 

And this greatness we can all have, if we seek it in 
the right way. Let us look at one or two illustrations 
of this kind of greatness. The first story may be 
called — 

The Name of the Good Samaritan. Many years ago 
a good and faithful minister, whose name was Oberlin, 
was laboring among the high Alps. On one occasion 
he was traveling on foot in the winter time. The snow 
was deep, and the weather very cold. Weary with his 
journey, faint, and hungry, and overcome by the cold, 
the poor minister felt that he could not struggle any 
longer. He dropped on the snow and fell asleep. If 
he had been left there a little while, he never would 
have wakened again in this world. But he had not 
slept long, before he was roused by some one shaking 
him, and calling to him. 

It was a Swiss peasant who had seen him, as he was 
driving by in his sleigh, and had stopped to help him. 
He eave him some wine to drink, and some food to 
eat, and then lifted him into his sleigh, and drove him 
to the next village. 

Mr. Oberlin felt that he owed his life to the great 
kindness of this stranger ; and he was at a loss how 
properly to thank him for what he had done. He 
offered him money, but he refused to take it. 

"It is our duty to help one another," said the 
peasant, "and it is almost an insult to offer to pay a 
man for any such service." 

"Well," replied Oberlin, "at least tell me your name, 
that I may tell it to the Lord in my prayers." 



470 BIBLE MODELS. 

"I see you are a minister of the Gospel," said the 
peasant. "Will you please tell me the name of the 
trood Samaritan?" 

o 

"I can't do that," said the minister, " for his name 
was never told." 

"Then let my name go with his," was the peasant's 
reply: "we'll leave them both together with the 
Lord." 

That good Swiss peasant, and the good Samaritan, 
had neither of them any of " the honor that cometh 
from man," but. like John, the Baptist, they had the 
honor which cometh from God. They were "great 
in the sight of the Lord," and that is the best sort of 
greatness. 

Thus we have taken the negative view of John's 
greatness, and have tried to show in what it did not 
consist. 

It did not consist — in long life — in great ricJics — or 
in the honor that cometh from man. 

And now, let us take the positive view of John's 
greatness, or in what it did consist. And there are 
three things to speak of under this head. 

One thing that helped to make John great, in the 
sight of the Lord, was — his humility. John was very 
humble. We see this in several things. We see it 
in what he said of himself, when the Jews sent mes- 
sengers from Jerusalem, after he had been preaching 
some time, to ask him who he was. His answer was : 
"I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness." He 
did not say — I am a prophet, or — I am the forerunner of 
Christ. He simply said : "I am a voice" — a little breath 
put in motion — that's all. How humble John was ! 




THE GOOD SAMARITAN HELPS THE WOUNDED MAN. 



472 BIBLE MODELS. 

And we see his humility again in what he said about 
Christ. "After me," said he, " cometh one mightier 
than I : one who was preferred before me ; whose 
shoes-latchet I am not worthy to unloose." How 
humble John was ! 

And then, we see his humility again, in what took 
place before the baptism of our Saviour. When he 
first applied to John to baptize him, he declined 
and said: "I have need to be baptized of thee, and 
comest thou to me?" But when Jesus said: "Suffer 
it to be so now ;" then John baptized him. All these 
things show us the humility of John ; and this was one 
of the things that helped to make him great. 

Solomon says: "Before honor is humility." And 
Jesus says: "He that humbleth himself shall be ex- 
alted." Here is a story called — 

Nattires Lesson on Humility. A farmer took his 
little son into the wheat-field during harvest. 

"See, father," said the boy, "how straight those stems 
hold up their heads ! They must be the best ones. 
Those that hang down their heads I don't think are 
good for much." 

The farmer plucked a stalk of each kind, and said : 
" Look here, my child. This stalk, that stood so straight, 
is light-headed, and good for nothing ; but this, which 
hung down its head, so modestly, is full of precious 
grain." 

And so we cannot always tell what people are by 
the way they hold up their heads. Empty heads are 
often the straightest — because they haven't sense 
enough to weigh them down. 

Here are some sweet lines called — 



JOHN THE BAPTIST, THE MODEL OF GREATNESS. 473 

THE REWARD OE HUMIEITY. 

' ' The bird that soars on highest wing, 
Builds on the ground her lowly nest ; 

And she that doth most sweetly sing, 
Sings in the shade when all things rest ; 

In lark and nightingale we see 

What honor hath humility. 

"The saint that wears heaven's brightest crown, 

In deepest adoration bends ; 
The weight of glory bows him down 

The most, when most his soul ascends ; 
Nearest the throne itself must be 
The footstool of humility." 

Here is a good missionary story, which shows how 
humility leads to honor and greatness. 

One time, when Dr. Morrison, the celebrated mis- 
sionary to China, found the work there too much for 
him, he wrote home to his friends in Scotland, and 
asked them to send him out an assistant. The man- 
agers of the missionary society inquired for a suitable 
person to send out to China. Their attention was 
directed to a young man of Aberdeen, who was said 
to be a person of great piety, and industry. 

He was called before the committee who had charge 
of this business. They had a long talk with him. 
Then he withdrew from the committee, and left them 
to talk it over among themselves. 

After he was o-one, one of the o-entlemen of the 
committee said: "I don't think that young man will 
answer our purpose at all. He's too plain and rough." 

Finally, one of them suggested, that even if they did 
not send the young man out as a missionary, it might 



4/4 BIBLE MODELS. 

do very well to send him out as a servant, to help Dr. 
Morrison in his work. The committee all agreed 
about this. Then the gentleman who had made the 
suggestion, was requested to see the young man and 
talk with him about it. He did so. He told him that 
the committee were not willing to send him out as a 
missionary ; but they would be very glad to have him 
go out as a servant to Dr. Morrison, if he was willing 
to go. 

Now many a young man, would have been offended 
at this, and would have risen up in pride and anger, 
and said : "No, I can't consent to that. If I can't go 
out as a missionary, I won't go at all." But it was 
different with this young man. When asked if he was 
willing to go as a servant — without a moment's hesita- 
tion, and with a bright smile, he replied: "Yes, sir, 
certainly. I am willing to do anything, so that I am 
only at work for Jesus. To be 'a hewer of wood, or 
drawer of water' is too great an honor for me when 
the Lord's house is building." That young man went 
out to China as a servant. But he was well known 
afterwards as — the Rev. Dr. Milne — one of the best 
and most successful missionaries that ever was. And 
it was his humility which made him great. 

But the last and best illustration of this subject to 
be found anywhere, we have in our blessed Saviour. 
There never was such humility as we find in Him. 
He humbled Himself to come down from the throne 
of heaven, and take our nature upon Him. He 
humbled Himself to live a life of poverty and shame. 
He humbled Himself to suffering and death — "even 
the death of the cross." "Therefore," as St. Paul 




JESUS CHANGES WATER INTO WINE AT THE MARRIAGE FEAST 



476 BIBLE MODELS. 

says. "God hath highly exalted Him, and given Him 
a name which is above every name ; that at the name 
of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, 
and things on earth, and things under the earth ; and 
that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is 
Lord, to the glory of God the Father." 

There never was such humiliation as that to which 
Jesus stooped. And there never will be any great- 
ness like that to which He. has already risen ; and 
to larger measures of which He will rise here- 
after. 

One thing that had to do with the greatness of John 
the Baptist, was his humility. 

Another thing that had to do with John's greatness 
in the sight of the Lord — was his unselfishness. 

One day, some of John's disciples came to him and 
said: "He that was with thee beyond Jordan, and to 
whom thou didst bear witness, behold the same bap- 
tizeth, and all men come to him.". They were feeling 
jealous for their master, and they wanted him to do 
something to show his importance. But John had no 
idea of setting himself up in opposition to Jesus. 
Just listen to what John said to his disciples : 

"A man can receive nothing, except it be given him 
from heaven. Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I 
said, I am not the Christ, but I am sent before him. 
He that cometh from above, is above all. He must 
increase, but I must decrease." How beautifully John's 
unselfishness shows itself here ! He was willing to 
be lost sight of, and to be counted as nothing, so that 
Jesus might be exalted. His unselfishness, was one 
of the things that helped to make him great. And 



JOHN THE BAPTIST, THE MODEL OF GREATNESS. 477 

we must learn this lesson too, if we wish to be — "great 
in the sight of the Lord." 

Let us look at some other examples of persons who 
were made great by their unselfishness. Our first 
story is about — 

An Unselfish Boy. Harry had seen some boys 
flying their kites from the top of a house, and he 
thought it would be nice fun if he could do so too. 
So he came to his aunt and said : "Aunt Mary, can't 
I go up to the top of the house, and fly my kite?" 

No, Harry, my boy; I think it would be a very 
dangerous sort of sport. I'd rather you wouldn't 
do it." 

"All right," said Harry; "then I'll go out, and 
play on the bridge." 

His aunt smiled, and said she hoped he would 
always be as obedient, and as unselfish, as he was 
then. 

"Harry, what are you doing?" said his mother to 
him one day. 

"Spinning my new top, mother." 

"Oh, well, can't you take the baby out to ride? 
Get the carriage, and I'll bring him down." 

"All right," shouted Harry, as he put the top away 
in his pocket, and hastened to obey his mother. 

"Uncle Willie,"' said Harry, one morning, ''may 
I go over to your shop, after breakfast? I want 
very much to see those baskets again, that I was 
looking at yesterday." 

"Oh, yes, Harry," said his uncle, "I shall be very 
glad to have you do so." 

" But I can't spare you, Harry," said his mother. 



47^ BIBLE MODELS. 

"I want you to go with me to-day. You can go and 
see the baskets some other day." 

"All right," said Harry, and went on cheerfully with 
his breakfast. 

No matter what Harry was asked to do, or what 
refusal he met with, in asking for anything, his con- 
stant reply was: "All right." He never stopped to 
worry, or to tease. He had learned not only to obey, 
but to obey in a pleasant, cheerful way. He was a 
good example of an unselfish boy. And we may be 
sure that his unselfishness would help to make him — 
"great in the sight of the Lord." 

Our next story is about — 

An Unselfish Engineer. One day, not long ago, 
a long train of cars left Jersey City on the Pennsyl- 
vania Railroad. There were six hundred and twenty 
passengers in that train. It went on increasing its 
speed, till it was flying along at the rate of forty miles 
an hour. Presently the engine and the tender con- 
nected with it, were found to be on fire. The speed, 
with which the train was flying along, drove the smoke 
and flames into the other cars. The engineer and the 
fireman were driven from their posts. The passen- 
gers were dreadfully frightened. And well they might 
be. The train was rushing on like the wind, and no 
one had any control of it. What was to become of 
them? The only prospect before them was that of 
being dashed to pieces. 

The name of the engineer on that train, was Gusta- 
vus Seig. He was an unselfish, noble-hearted man. 
He saw that unless something was done, the train 
would be wrecked, and many lives would be lost. At 



JOHN THE BAPTIST, THE MODEL OF GREATNESS. 479 

the risk of his own life, he resolved to try and save 
the train. He rushed through the flames, to get at 
the air-brake, and stop the train. His clothes caught 
fire ; but still he went on. He reached the brake. 
He put it in operation. He stopped the train. By 
this time his clothes were all in flames. Then he 
plunged into the water-tank to stop the burning of 
his clothes. He did stop it, but not till it was too 
late. He died from the effect of his burns. But, by 
losing his own life, he saved the lives of more than 
six hundred passengers on that train. This was one 
of the noblest actions ever performed. 

The unselfishness of that engineer made him great, 
not only in the sight of the Lord, but in the sight of 
men. 

And then there was one other thing that helped to 
make John great, and that was his — courage. 

John was a very brave man. At the time when he 
was preaching, Herod was the king of Judea. He 
was fond of John, and became his friend. We are told 
that he took great pleasure in hearing John preach, 
and did many things that he told the people to do. 
But Herod was a very bad man. He had taken the 
wife of his brother Philip to be his wife. This was 
very wrong. It was breaking God's law. John made 
up his mind to speak to Herod about it. 

Many a man would have been afraid to do this. He 
would have said to himself: "I had better let this 
matter alone ; for I shall surely lose the friendship of 
the king, if I say anything to him about it." But John 
was not afraid. His rule was always to do what was 
right, no matter what the consequences might be. 



480 BIBLE MODELS. 

So he told the king one day, that it was not lawful 
for him to have his brother's wife. This made Herod 
very angry. He had John cast into prison; and not 
long after, at the request of his wife, he ordered him 
to be put to death. But John's work was done. And 
when he died, he went into the presence of that Lord, 
in whose sight he was great. And one thing that 
helped to make him so, was his courage. 

And we must learn to follow his example in this 
respect, if we hope to be great in the sight of the 
Lord, as he was. 

Let us look at some other examples of courage, 
and see how it makes those great who have it. The 
first story is about — 

A Brave Chinaman. Two young Chinese lads 
attended the services of a mission chapel, in the city 
of Canton. One of them was named Wah Lee, and 
the other Ah Wing. They were very much interested 
in what the missionary had told them about Jesus, 
and his love for poor sinners. But they could not 
feel quite easy about giving up the idols, they had 
been taught to worship. They had many long talks 
together on the subject. If they could only feel satis- 
fied that their idols were not real gods, they would be 
willing at once to give them up, and become Chris- 
tians. But they could not quite make up their minds 
about it. Wah Lee was a youth with a great deal of 
courage, and always ready to do whatever he believed 
was right. But Ah Wing was very timid, and afraid 
of taking any decided step. But, one day, they con- 
cluded to go to the Joss House, which is the name 
given to the place where their idols are worshipped, 





JOHN THE BAPTIST BEHEADED IN PRISON. 



482 BIBLE MODELS. 

and see if they could not make up their minds, whether 
those idols were real gods, or not. 

When they reached the Joss House, Ah Wing was 
afraid to go any further than just inside the door. 
But Wah Lee walked up to the altar, and standing 
boldly before the idol he said: "You no god. You 
only block of wood." Ah Wing trembled when he 
heard this. But Wah Lee grew bolder, and turning 
to his companion, he said: "Me ask Jesus help me ; 
then me pull the idol's beard." Poor Ah Wing was 
dreadfully frightened when he heard this. But Wah 
Lee was not afraid. He went up close to the idol. 
It was made of wood, about two feet high, in a sitting 
position, on an altar. As usual, it had on its chin a 
long beard, made of horse-hair. As Wah Lee stepped 
up to the idol, Ah Wing held his breath. It was a 
bold thing his friend was going to do. If that idol 
was a real god, he expected that Wah Lee would be 
struck dead on the spot. But the brave young man 
was not afraid. He stood boldly up before the idol. 
He took firm hold of its beard, and gave it a good 
pull. The idol toppled over, and fell to the ground, 
resting on its head. For a moment the young men 
were both speechless. They waited to see if anything 
would happen. But there was nothing. 

Then Wah Lee cried out: "Now me sure he no 
god. He only block of wood. Now me give up 
idols, and take Jesus for me God." And Ah Wing 
did the same. The courage of Wah Lee made him 
great. It proved a great blessing both to himself, and 
to his friend, Ah Wing. Let us try to have courage 
like this, and it will be a blessing to us. 



JOHN THE BAPTIST, THE MODEL OF GREATNESS. 483 

I have one other story to illustrate this part of our 
subject. We may call it — 

The Brave Soldier. It is a story connected with the 
late war. General Kershaw, of South Carolina, tells 
the story, and the brave Sergeant Kirkland, to whom 
it refers, was a soldier in his brigade. It was the day 
after the battle of Fredericksburgh, that this incident 
took place. That was not a decided battle. Neither 
side had gained the victory. The two armies lay 
within sight of each other, and the broad plain between 
them was covered with dead and* wounded soldiers, 
who had fallen in the battle of the previous day. 

Soon after breakfast that morning, Sergeant Kirk- 
land came up to General Kershaw, very much excited, 
and said : "General I can't stand this any longer." 

" Can't stand what?" 

"Why, the cry of those poor wounded fellows. 
'Water! water! water! for God's sake give me water!' 
I've been hearing all night, and all morning. I can't 
stand it any longer ; and I've come to ask, sir, if you 
will allow me to go and take them some water?" 

The General looked at him with wondering admira- 
tion. Then he said : " Kirkland, don't you know, that 
the moment you step over the lines, you will be in 
danger of having a bullet put through your head ?" 

"Yes, sir, I know it," said the brave fellow, "but, 
if you'll allow me, I am willing to try it." 

"Kirkland," said the General, "I ought not to 
allow you to run such a risk ; but the motive which 
influences you is so noble, that I cannot refuse your 
request. I pray God to take care of you. You may 
go-" 



484 BIBLE MODELS. 

"Thank you, sir," said the Sergeant, as he made 
his bow with a pleasant smile. Then he hastened 
away. With a bucket of water, and a tin-cup in his 
hand, he started. How anxiously he was watched, as 
he stepped over the lines, on his errand of mercy. 
Unharmed he reached the nearest sufferer. Kneeling 
beside him, he tenderly raised his drooping head, 
rested it gently on his own noble breast, and poured 
the cool, refreshing, life-giving water down his fever- 
parched throat. Then he laid him tenderly down, — 
placed his knapsack under his head, straightened out 
his broken limb, spread his overcoat over him, filled 
his empty canteen with water, and left him as com- 
fortable as he could be, while he turned to another 
poor sufferer. 

By this time, his object in going out among the 
wounded, was understood by both armies, and he was 
safe. As he went on with his work, fresh cries were 
heard from all parts of the field — "Water! water! 
for God's sake, water !" For an hour and a half that 
noble-hearted soldier kept on with his blessed mission. 
Like an angel of mercy, nay, like the Lord of the 
angels, he was "going about doing good." And he 
never stopped in his work, till all the wounded in that 
part of the field, were relieved. How well we may 
say that the courage of that brave soldier made him 
great, not only in the sight of the Lord, but in the sight 
of men too ! 

Now, where is our text to-day? St. Luke, first chap- 
ter and 15th verse. What are the words of the text? 
" He shall be great in the sight of the Lord." What 
is the sermon about? John the Baptist, the Model of 



JOHN THE BAPTIST, THE MODEL OF GREATNESS. 485 

Greatness. From how many points of view did we 
look at John's greatness ? Two. What was the first ? 
The negative view ; or in what it did not consist. It 
was not — in lojig life — not in great riches — and not in 
the honor that cometh from man. 

And what was the second view from which we 
looked at John's greatness ? The positive view ; or in 
what it did consist. It was his humility — his unselfish- 
ness — and his courage — which made John great. 

Let us pray for grace to follow his example in these 
respects, and then, we may hope to be great in the 
sight of the Lord, as John was. 




THE APOSTLE PAUL, THE MODEL OF 
EARNESTNESS. 



' I press toward the mark." — Philippians iii : 14. 




;AUL, the apostle, spoke the above words. 
He was a very remarkable man. Of all 
the persons spoken of in the Bible, next 
to our blessed Lord Himself, there is 
not one who has done so much good in 
the world as St. Paul. And I suppose that the chief 
thing that helped to make him so useful was the — 
earnestness — which marked his character. And, in 
putting him among our Bible Models, we cannot do 
better than to consider him as — the model of earnest- 
ness. 

This feature of character belonged to him by nature. 
Before he became a Christian, he was earnest in getting 
an education. He left his home at Tarsus ; in Asia 
Minor, for this purpose, and was brought up at the 
feet of Gamaliel, the greatest teacher of that age. 
None but an earnest young man would have done 
this. 

And then we see how earnest he was in persecuting 
486 





PAUL STRUCK BLIND BY A LIGHT PROM HEAVEN. 



488 BIBLE MODELS. 

the followers of Jesus, when he thought that was the 
right thing for him to do. He got letters from the 
chief priests, and then travelled all the way from Jeru- 
salem to Damascus — a very long journey in those 
days — that he might make prisoners of the Christians 
there, and bring them bound to Jerusalem. But it is 
chiefly in St. Paul's character, after he became a Chris- 
tian, that we find his earnestness exhibited. And there 
are three things about the Christian life of St. Paul, 
in which his earnestness appears. These are — the 
beginning ; the continuance ; and the residts of that 
life. 

St. Paul showed his earnestness in the way in which 
he began his Christian life. We see what that begin- 
ning was in the prayer which he offered, when Jesus 
appeared to him on his way to Damascus. He found 
that he was utterly wrong in the course of life he was 
pursuing. He saw that it would be necessary for him 
to make an entire change. He knew not what to do. 
So he offered the prayer : " Lord, what zvilt thou have 
me to do f This showed that he was ready to begin 
his Christian life by doing whatever God wanted him 
to do. 

In answer to this prayer, God told him through 
Ananias, who baptized him, that — "he was a chosen 
vessel unto Him, to bear His name before the Gentiles, 
and kings, and the children of Israel. And that He 
would show him what great things he must suffer for 
His name's sake." This would have been enough to 
discourage, and alarm many persons. But Paul was 
neither alarmed, or discouraged. It was an answer 
to his prayer. He saw now what the will of God con- 



THE APOSTLE PAUL, THE MODEL OF EARNESTNESS. 489 

cerning him was, and he began his Christian life by 
resolving at once to do that will. And we read that : 
"Straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, 
that He was the Son of God. And all that heard him 
were astonished, and said : 'Is not this he that de- 
stroyed those that called on this name in Jerusalem, 
and came hither for that intent, that he might bring 
them bound to the chief priests ?' But Paul increased 
the more in strength, and confounded the Jews that 
were at Damascus, proving that this is the very 
Christ." 

Here we see what a model of earnestness, Paul was 
in the way in which he began his Christian life. And 
all who desire to follow this model must begin their 
Christian life as he did, by resolving to do just what 
God wants them to do. 

Here is an example of earnestness in a little girl, 
who was trying to be a Christian. 

Her name was Lutie Goldsborough. It was the 
custom in their family, when they had prayers in 
the morning, for each of the children to repeat a text 
of Scripture. Lutie was the youngest of the children, 
a bright little blue-eyed child, about seven years old. 
One morning her verse was: "Inasmuch as ye have 
done it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, ye 
have done it unto me." 

After prayers were over she came up to her father, 
saying: "Papa, I don't understand the verse I re- 
peated this morning ; what does it mean ?" 

"Well, it means this," said her father: "if you were 
going along the road, and saw a poor ragged beggar 
sitting under the hedge, and you should stop and give 



490 BIBLE MODELS. 

him a cup of cold water, or a piece of bread, it would 
be the same as if you had given it to the blessed Sa- 
viour Himself. Don't you understand now, my dear?" 

" Yes, papa, I do. Thank you. 

A few days after this, there was a church fair being 
held in the village ; and one afternoon, Mrs. Golds- 
borough said to her little daughter : " Lutie, my dear, 
you have been such a good, obedient girl lately, that 
mamma wants to reward you. Here's a purse with 
some money in it ; you may take it, and go over to 
the fair, and buy anything you like for yourself and 
little May." 

"Anything I like!" said the little girl, as she danced 
up and down, feeling perfectly delighted. " Oh, let me 
start this very minute !" 

"You may start as soon as you please," said her 
mother. So Lutie put on her bonnet, and set off, 
with her precious purse in her pocket, thinking of the 
lovely things she would buy. 

As she neared the village, she saw an old woman 
sitting under a tree, with a basket in front, of her, 
filled with boxes of matches, shoe-strings, tapes, 
papers of pins, and such like things. 

" Buy some matches, little lady, please," said the 
poor woman, as Lutie stopped a moment to look at 
her. "I haven't sold enough all day to buy a loaf of 
bread ; and I'm awful hungry." 

"Oh, I can't buy anything," said Lutie; "I'm going 
to spend my money at the fair ;" and then she ran 
away, as fast as her little feet would carry her, until 
she reached the bridge, near the village. There she 
stopped and looked back. 



THE APOSTLE PAUL, THE MODEL OF EARNESTNESS. 49 1 

" If I should buy some of that poor woman's 
matches, and help her to get a loaf of bread," she 
said to herself, " 'twould be the same as if I'd done 
it to the blessed Saviour." 

She hesitated a little while, jingling the money in 
her purse, and looking wistfully towards the building 
in which the fair was being held. Then she turned 
and went slowly back. 

"Buy some matches, my pretty dear," said the old 
woman, as the child drew near to her. 

Lutie went up to her, and putting the purse into her 
hand, said: "Take this, poor woman, and buy your- 
self some supper." And then, before the woman 
could give her anything from her basket, she ran 
away. 

" Mamma," said Lutie that night, when her mother 
came to kiss her before she went to sleep, "I don't 
mind about the fair one bit. To lie here and think 
that I've done a kind thing for the Lord Jesus to-day, 
makes me happier than if May and I had all the pretty 
things in the world." 

How sweet this was ! That little Qfirl was imitating 
Paul's model, by showing earnestness in beginning her 
Christian life. 

I will close this part of our sermon, with some sweet 
lines which embrace all that I have been trying to say 
on this subject. They are headed — 

TEACH ME TO LIVE. 
"Teach me that hardest lesson — how to live, 
To serve Thee in the darkest paths of life ; 
Arm me for conflict now; fresh vigor give, 

And make me more than conqueror in the strife, 



492 BIBLE MODELS. 

''Teach me to live for self and sin no more; 
But use the time remaining to me yet, 
Not mine own pleasure seeking as before, 
Wasting no precious hours in vain regret. 

"Teach me to live ! No idler let me be, 

But in thy service hand and heart employ ; 
Prepared to do thy bidding cheerfully ; 
Be this my highest and my holiest joy. 

•'Teach me to live ! and find my life in Thee, 
Looking from earth and earthly things away ; 
Let me not falter, but untiringly 

Press on, and gain new strength and power each day. 

" Teach me to live ! with kindly words for all ; 
Wearing no cold, repulsive brow of gloom ; 
Waiting with cheerful patience till Thy call 
Summons my spirit to its heavenly home." 

These lines well express the earnestness with which 
St. Paul began his Christian life. 

But secondly, we see what a model of earnestness St. 
Paul ivas — in the way in which he — continued — his 
Christian life, after it zuas begun. 

We see this illustrated in the words of our text, in 
which he says: ^ I press towards the mark." In the 
use of this lano-iia^e, St. Paul has reference to the 
public games, which were practiced in his days. 

One of these was the game of racing. A long race- 
course was prepared, in one of the public squares of 
the great cities. At the end of this race-course, the 
laurel crown, to be o-iven to the victor, was hung- on 
the top of a high pole, so that all the racers could 
keep it in sight. The men who were going to join in 
the race, would put off their unnecessary clothing, and 



THE APOSTLE PAUL, THE MODEL OF EARNESTNESS. 493 

with their loins girded, would stand all ready to start, 
as soon as the signal was given. The moment they 
heard the signal — they would be off. Each one would 
keep that crown in view, while, forgetting everything 
else, he would strain every nerve, as he "pressed to- 
ward the mark," in the earnest endeavor to win the 
prize. 

And when St. Paul said : " I press toward the 
mark," he meant to say that he compared his Christian 
life to a race. The mark, or prize, at the end of this 
race, which he kept in view, and towards which he 
was pressing all the time, was the crown of life and 
glory which Jesus has promised to give to all His faith- 
ful followers. This was what he meant when he said — 
"I press toward the mark." And in doing this, he 
showed the earnestness with which he was continuing 
the Christian life which he had begun. 

We see the earnestness of St. Paul in the way in 
which he preached; and in the way in which he worked. 

This great apostle showed his earnestness in the 
way in which he preached. 

In writing to the Corinthians, about his preaching, 
he said : "I determined not to know anything among 
you save Jesus Christ, aud Him crucified." He felt 
that he was sent to preach the gospel, or to tell 
men that the only way of salvation was through Jesus 
Christ. And this — was all he had to say to them. 

Wherever he went, he had nothing else to tell but 
what was a new story then, though we call it now, — 
"the old, old story, of Jesus and His love." He 
never got tired of telling this story, all his days. 

Some ministers give up preaching about "Jesus 



494 BIBLE MODELS. 

and Him crucified ;" and preach about history, and 
philosophy, and science and learning. But St. Paul 
never did this. And if he had lived right straight on 
through all the past eighteen hundred years, to the 
present time, he never would have changed the sub- 
ject of his preaching. And he showed his earnest- 
ness in the way in which he preached. 

But then, he showed it, too, by the way in which 
he tvorked. He spent his life in taking one mission- 
ary journey after another, till he had gone all round 
the world, as it was then known. And in pursuing 
these journeys, no one ever worked harder, or suffered 
more than he did. This is his own account of what 
he passed through in carrying out his Christian life, 
after it was begun. In his Epistle to the Corinthians, 
he says that he had been — "in labors more abundant, 
in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, 
in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty 
stripes save one. Thrice I was beaten with rods, 
once I was stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night 
and a day have I been in the deep ; In journeyings 
often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils 
by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in 
perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils 
in the sea, in perils among false brethren ; In weariness 
and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and 
thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Be- 
side those things that are without, that which cometh 
upon me daily, the care of all the churches." 

How great his earnestness must have been, to make 
him willing to go on all his days, suffering and laboring 
in such a way as this ! In all the history of the church, 




THE SHIPWRECK OP ST PAUL. 



496 BIBLE MODELS. 

from the days of St. Paul to the present time, I sup- 
pose there never has been another servant of Christ, 
who has passed through such an experience as he 
had. And as we think of the way in which he worked, 
we see how well he may be spoken of as the model 
of earnestness ! 

We may finish this part of our sermon with an 
illustration of earnestness, which may be called — 

The Earnest Boy. In a little town in Germany, 
lived a poor widow. Her husband had died, leaving 
her nothing but the care of her three young sons. 
She found it very hard to support herself and them ; 
yet she managed to do so, sparingly, but honestly. 
The two elder sons at last were old enough to leave 
home, and do something for their support : but the 
youngest remained with his mother still, and went daily 
to school. 

Then the war broke out, and there was a time of 
great trouble and distress. Collections were made, 
all over the country, for thousands of the poor wounded 
soldiers, and the cry for help reached even to the 
little town where this poor widow lived. The list of 
contributors to this work of mercy was carried from 
house to house. One day, the collectors called at this 
poor widow's house. She had given her little mite to 
them, and they were going away, when her little boy 
took up a pen, and quietly wrote down his name on 
the list for three dollars ; and then counted out the 
money into the hand of the astonished collector. This 
was more than many of the people in the town, who 
were quite well off, had contributed. And where did 
this money come from? For several years this little fel- 



THE APOSTLE PAUL, THE MODEL OF EARNESTNESS. 497 

low had been longing to own a watch ; and every time 
that his mother, or one of his elder brothers, would 
give him a small piece of money, he would put it care- 
fully away. When he got enough pennies, he would 
change them into a silver piece, and great was his joy 
when his money had increased so much that he had 
his first whole dollar. But now, at last, it had in- 
creased to three dollars ; and very soon he was ex- 
pecting to have the great pleasure, to which he had 
been looking forward so long, — the pleasure of feeling 
that he had his own watch in his pocket. But he gave 
up this long-expected pleasure, and readily parted with 
all his money, in the earnestness of his desire to help 
the poor wounded soldiers. 

This was real noble in that boy. It showed that 
he had just the same spirit which St. Paul had, when 
he was such an example of earnestness in his Christian 
life. It was this earnestness of spirit, which led the 
great apostle of the Gentiles to continue his Chris- 
tian life, in the same way in which he had begun it. 

But, in the third place, we see what a model of earnest- 
ness St. Paid was, when we look at the results which — 
followed— -from his Christian life. 

We see one of the results of St. Paul's earnest life, 
in his labors for the cause of Christ. His missionary 
journeys took him to the utmost ends of the world, 
as it was then known — east, and west, and north, 
and south. Probably no man ever preached the Gos- 
pel to such multitudes of people as St. Paul did. 
If we only knew how many thousands, and hundreds 
of thousands of persons there were, who had heard 
the Gospel from him, how surprising it would be ! 



49§ BIBLE MODELS. 

And if we could have an account of the multitudes 
of people who were converted by his preaching ; 
and then of the multitudes who were converted by 
them, and so on, all the way down, from that day 
to this, we should no doubt find numbers of Chris- 
tians laboring in the church to-day, as the direct re- 
sult of his labors, before he went to heaven eighteen 
hundred years ago. While he was still alive St. Paul 
said that the Gospel "had been preached to every 
creature tinder heaven," and this was mainly the 
result of his labors. And when we think of all this, 
we may well say, that he was indeed a model of 
earnestness, in view of the results which followed from 
his labors. 

But we see the result of St. Paul's earnestness in 
his writings, as well as in his labors. 

There are twenty-one Epistles in the New Testa- 
ment. Of these St. Paul wrote fourteen, or two-thirds 
of the whole. These Epistles are filled with the pre- 
cious truths of the Gospel. Ever since St. Paul wrote 
them, ministers of the Gospel have been taking texts 
from these Epistles, and preaching sermons from them. 
And through these sermons multitudes of souls have 
been converted ; those in ignorance have been in- 
structed ; those in trouble have been comforted ; those 
who were doubting have been encouraged, and an 
amount of good has been done, which will never be 
known, till that great day of judgment shall come, 
when all that is now secret shall be made known. 

And so, when we think of the results of St. Paul's 
Christian life, both in his labors and in his writings, we 
may well speak of him as a model of earnestness. 



: v .,-; 




JESUS CASTS OUT AN EVIL SPIRIT. 



500 BIBLE MODELS. 

Now let us look at some illustrations of earnestness 
in the Christian life, and the good that has resulted 
from it. We may begin with the story of — 

An Earnest Child, and the Good she did. A young 
man who had graduated at college, was on his way 
home, riding in a stage-coach. Among the passengers 
in that stage, was a Christian mother with her little 
girl, who was beginning very young to be a Christian. 
The young man took the little girl upon his knee, and 
tried to get into conversation with her. He was 
pleased with her bright, innocent face, and was very 
much struck with her intelligence. All at once the 
little one turned the full gaze of her sparkling eyes, di- 
rectly towards her new-found acquaintance, and asked 
the simple, touching question : "Does you love God?" 
That young man was living a giddy, careless life. The 
little one's question touched him very much. He tried 
to turn the conversation to some other subject. But 
the child seemed to take no interest in what he was 
saying ; and every little while she would repeat her 
question: "Does you love God?" He could not 
answer the question, for he seldom went to church, 
and thought little about God. 

Before lonor the stao-e reached the home of the little 

&>' o 

girl and her mother, and they got out, while the young 
man continued his journey. 

He had not answered the little girl's earnest ques- 
tion ; but he could not get rid of it. Wherever he 
went, it followed him. The last thing at night, as he 
laid his head on his pillow ; and the first thing in the 
morning, as he opened his eyes on the light of another 
day, it would come up to him afresh. It made him 



THE APOSTLE PAUL, THE MODEL OF EARNESTNESS. 50I 

think of his sinfulness in not loving God. It led him 
to repentance, and he never rested till he became a 
Christian, and made up his mind to st idy for the 
ministry. 

Several years after this, that young mm was passing 
through the same part of the country. He stopped 
at the home of the little one, whom God had made 
the means of his conversion. He met at the door, 
a lady looking very sad, and recognized her as the 
mother of the little girl, with whom he had travelled 
in the coach. He asked to see her child. With the 
tears streaming down her cheeks, she said : 

" My precious one has been taken from me. She 
has gone to dwell in heaven with Jesus, whom 
she loved ; and has left nothing behind her, but 
these little toys, which I keep as sacred to her 
memory." 

"Pardon me, my friend," said the young man, whose 
eyes were also filled with tears; "but you are mis- 
taken there. These toys are not all that your darling 
little one has left behind. Do you remember the 
earnest question she put to me, as we were riding 
in the stage together ; ' Does you love God ?' That 
question led to my conversion. I am about to enter 
the ministry ; and whatever good may follow from my 
future life in this blessed work, will be due to your 
darling child. It will be the result of the earnestness 
with which she pressed on me that question." 

Our next story may be called — 

A Missionary's Earnestness, and What it Led to. 
One hot day in July, 1839, Dr. Hamlin, of the Amer- 
ican Mission at Constantinople, and so long at the 



5° 2 



BIBLE MODELS. 



head of Robert's College in that city, while passing 
by the Custom House, saw a crowd of people gathered 
there. Forcing his way through it, he found a poor 
sailor, lying by the side of the wall, apparently dying 
of cholera. 

"Do you speak English?" asked Dr. Hamlin. 

"Yes," said the man, following the word with an 
oath. 

"Are you an Englishman, or an American?" 

"American," he replied with another oath. 

Still more terrible curses showed that profanity had 
become his mother-tongue. 

Dr. Hamlin secured assistance, and had him re- 
moved to the home of one of the missionaries. 

For several weeks he was kindly nursed, and taken 
care of by the missionaries. Then he recovered. One 
morning he called on Dr. Hamlin to say good-by, as 
he was about to sail for Boston. Lingering for a 
moment at the door, he said, with great feeling- : 

" I never shall forget your kindness to me, Dr. Ham- 
lin. I have been a very wicked man, and have done 
all the evil in the world I could. But now, by the help 
of God, I am going to turn round, and try to do all 
the good I can. God bless you ! Good-by." 

Three years afterwards Dr. Hamlin received a letter 
from him, which read thus : 

"Dear Dr. Hamlin: — Thank God I still live. I am here 
workin', and blowin' the Gospel-trumpet on the Eri Kanal." 

When the Rev. Dr. Goodell, the missionary, saw 
this letter, he asked that he might begin the answer to 
it, and taking a sheet of paper, he wrote as follows : — 



THE APOSTLE PAUL, THE MODEL OF EARNESTNESS. 503 

"Dear Mr. Brown: — Blow away, brother! blow! Yours in 
blowing the same Gospel-trumpet, 

"William Goodell." 

Twenty-five years after this, Dr. Hamlin was dining 
one day, at a hotel in the city of Paris, when an Amer- 
ican gentleman came up to him, and said : "Sir, I am 
just from Honolulu, in the Sandwich Islands. I knew 
a man there by the name of Brown, who is acting as 
missionary, or Bible reader, and who has done a won- 
derful amount of good among the sailors. He can go 
anywhere, and everywhere, among them. He told me 
that he was once a wretched blaspheming sinner, 
dying in the streets of Constantinople, when you kindly 
took him to' your home, and were the means of saving 
both his body and his soul. This seemed to me too 
strange to be true. Was it so?" asked the gentle- 
man, "or is it only a sailor's yarn?" 

"It is a sailor's yarn, indeed," said Dr. Hamlin, 
"but it is a good yarn, and every word of it is true. 
And I am Had to know that in showing kindness 
to that poor blaspheming sinner, I was enlisting a 
trumpeter who not only sounded the Gospel-trum- 
pet on what he called the ' Eri Kanal,' but is now 
doing the same from the Atlantic coast to the 
Golden Gate of California, and among the islands of 
the Pacific." 

This faithful missionary was imitating Paul's model 
of earnestness ; and we see what great good resulted 
from his labors. 

I have just one other illustration of the good results 
that follow from earnestness in the missionary work. 
This was given by a Chinese convert, whose name 



504 BIBLE MODELS. 

was Paul Ah Fat. He lived at New Bendigo in 
Australia. This story may be called — 

Before and Now. This Chinaman was asked, one 
day, what good had been done by missionary work, 
in seven years among his countrymen, at New Ben- 
digo. He gave his answer in this way — 

"Before missionary come, no one understood God's 
word. Good many work Sunday all same as week- 
day. Now, no work done on Sunday, by my country- 
men at New Bendigo. No matter how poor, every 
one no work on Sunday. 

"Before missionary come, all worship idols. Idols 
in every house. Now, only ten houses and stores at 
New Bendigo with idols in them. 

"Before missionary come, nearly all Chinese steal 
fowls, steal everything. Now, no more steal ; every 
one work ; go get job. 

"Before missionary come, Chinaman learn to fight 
every night. Now, none learn to fight. All learn 
God's word. 

"Before missionary come, no Chinaman read God's 
word ; he not know, not care. Nozv, good many 
people like read God's word. 

"Before missionary come, all have too much time ; 
nothing to do. Now, no more waste time. When no 
work, love to read the Bible. 

"Before missionary come, good many make fun of 
God's word, and laugh. Papers put up outside of 
stores, make laugh at Christian. When men baptized, 
papers put up on door of house to make laugh. Now, 
heathen men no more make fun. Feel Christian right. 
Like to be one. All quiet now." 



THE APOSTLE PAUL, THE MODEL OF EARNESTNESS. 505 

Here we see the blessed results that follow from 
earnestness in Christian work. 

And when we think of the way in which St. Paul 
began his Christian life ; of the way in which he con- 
tinued it ; and of the results which followed from it, 
we may well speak of him as a model of earnestness. 

Let us pray God for grace to follow the example of 
St. Paul's earnestness in our Christian life and labors. 
Then we shall be useful and happy while we are here, 
and at last, " we shall come to those unspeakable joys 
which God has prepared for such as unfeignedly love 
Him, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen." 




JESUS, THE MODEL OF PERFECTION. 



Made perfect? — Hebrews v : 9. 




n\ PAUL, the writer of this Epistle, is 
speaking here of Jesus, our blessed Sa- 
viour. He tells us what He is to be to 
His people, and what He is to do for 
them. Jesus will make all His people 
perfect in heaven, though He does not make any of 
them perfect here, in this world. Jesus Himself, is 
the only perfect Being who ever lived on our earth. 
And in finishing this course of sermons, on "Bible 
Models," I know not how to conclude it better than 
by considering Jesus as — 

The Model of Perfection. His doings are perfect. 
His thoughts and plans are perfect. Everything con- 
nected with Him, is perfect. He is like a jewel with 
many surfaces. Each is different from the rest, but 
all are perfect in their kind. He is a perfect Friend ; 
a perfect Guide ; a perfect Protector ; and as em- 
bracing everything else in one, He is a perfect Saviour. 
And this is the point of view, from which we desire 

to look at the character of Jesus. He is the model 

506 




MARY THE MOTHER OP JESUS. 



5oS BIBLE MODELS. 

of perfection as a Saviour. And when we come to 
examine this model, there are three things in it, which 
show the perfection of Jesus as our Saviour. We see 
it first — in the perfect example He sets us. Secondly, 
in the perfect help He affords us. And thirdly, in the 
perfect home He is preparing for us. 

In the first place, we see the perfection of fesus as our 
Saviour — in the — perfect example — He sets us. 

We have a great many examples in the Bible that 
are very good. Noah was a good example of obe- 
dience ; for when he was building the ark, we are told 
that — "all that the Lord commanded him so did he." 
Job was a good example of patience ; Abraham of 
faith ; Moses of meekness ; David of piety ; and Peter 
of courage. But none of these were perfect examples. 
They all failed, at one time or other, in their lives. 
Yes, and they each failed in the very thing, for which 
he was spoken of as an example. But it is different 
with Jesus. He is an example not of one point of 
character only, but of every point. And He is perfect 
in them all. He never failed in any of them. He 
said, when He was on earth — "I came down from 
heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of Him 
that sent me." God, His Father in heaven, is perfect 
in all things. Jesus came down from heaven to tell 
us about His Father, and to show us what a perfect 
Saviour should be. He has left us an example 
of perfect submission to His Father's will, — of 
perfect obedience to His Father's commandments, 
— an example of perfect humility, — of perfect gentle- 
ness, — of perfect patience, — of perfect courage, — 
and a perfect example of everything that we are 



5IO BIBLE MODELS. 

expected to do, and to be. And, we are required 
to follow His example; and to endeavor, — "daily to 
tread in the blessed steps of His most holy life." This 
was what St. Paul was doing when he said : " For me 
to live is Christ." He meant by this to say, that he 
was trying to follow the perfect example which Jesus 
had set. His aim was to — "have the same mind 
which was in Christ ;" to think, and feel, and speak, 
and act like Him in all things. And if we wish to be 
true Christians, this is what we must try to do. We 
cannot do this of ourselves, but we can all do it, by 
the help of God's grace. And the sooner we begin 
to do this, the easier, and the better it will be for us. 
Let us all begin at once, and try to follow the perfect 
example which Jesus has set for us. 

Here are some incidents that illustrate this part of 
our subject. The first we may call — 

Copying a Blot. "Mother," asked a little boy, who 
was looking round for a good example, "which, of all 
the big boys I know, would you like for me to pattern 
after?" 

"Which should you think?" asked his mother. 
"You know the boys better than I do." 

The little fellow thought awhile. Then he said : 
" Well, there's Dan Park ; he's a good fellow, but he 
smokes; there's Bill Jones, he swears; Sam Jay, he 
drinks; Bill Parker, he has an ugly temper; Jim 
Wood, he's lazy, and hates study; Charley Doe, he 
goes a-fishing on Sunday; and Tom Smith, he tells 
lies. Mother, there isn't one of them, that if I copy, 
I shouldn't have to copy a blot from." 

"Then my dear," said his mother, "suppose you 




JESUS AND HIS APOSTLES IN THE GARDEN OP GETHSEMANE 



512 BIBLE MODELS. 

let them all go, and take the blessed Saviour, for 
your pattern. He came on purpose, as the apostle 
says, to — 'leave us an example that we should follow 
his steps.' And we can do this with entire safety. 
In Him you will find a perfect example. And there 
are no blots to copy here." 

Our next story may be called — 

A Christian in Little Things. A boy, named 
Willie, was about twelve years old. One winter there 
was a good deal of religious interest, in the church 
which he attended. Willie had been trying to be a 
Christian, for some time. The season for Confirma- 
tion in that church was approaching, and he expressed 
an earnest desire to be confirmed, and join the church. 
He was rather young to take such an important step. 
His parents were earnest Christians. They felt sure 
that Willie understood this matter, and that he was 
trying, with all his heart, to be a Christian, and they 
consented to his being confirmed. 

This solemn step was taken, and the next Sunday 
he went forward to the holy Communion, for the first 
time. That was the happiest day Willie had ever 
spent. And yet, in the midst of his happiness, he felt 
that he had taken solemn vows upon himself, and 
that he would need the help of God, to enable him 
to keep those vows. In the prayer, which he offered, 
before going to bed that night, Willie showed how 
earnest his desire was, to be a true Christian. He 
did not know that his mother was near him then ; but 
she was, and she heard him offer this prayer: "O 
God, make me a Christian in little things." He 
meant by this, that he wanted God to help him to be 



514 BIBLE MODELS. 

a Christian, not only on Sunday, and at church, but 
on week-days too ; at home, at school, and at play. 
Wherever he was, and whatever he was doing, he 
wished to keep the example of Jesus before him, and 
to be asking himself the question — How would Jesus 
have me feel? and what would Jesus have me say, 
and do? And, like this dear boy, we must try to be 
Christians in little things, if we hope to be true Chris- 
tians. 

A young man had a situation as clerk, in a mer- 
cantile house, in one of our large cities. In writing 
home to his mother one day, he said: "I have been 
connected in business, at different times, with a num- 
ber of merchants, all of them members of Christian 
churches; but, I must say, that Mr. Johnson, with 
whom I am now employed, is the best of them all, 
in the way in which he governs himself by his religion, 
in all his business affairs. I take great pleasure in 
watching how faithfully he does this. I must say of 
him, that he is a Christian — all over." It was a great 
honor to this good merchant, that one of his clerks, 
should feel obliged to speak thus of him. Now let us 
remember these last two illustrations; and let us all 
try to follow the example, which Jesus sets us, in such 
a way, that we may be Christians in little things — and 
Christians all over. 

Jesus is a perfect Saviour, in the first place, because 
He sets us a perfect example. 

He is so, in the second place, because He gives us — 

PERFECT HELP. 

There are three things about Jesus, which make 
Him a perfect Helper. One of these is — that He is 




PETER DENIES THAT HE IS A DISCIPLE OP JESUS. 



5 l6 BIBLE MODELS. 

— a near helper. Many persons, when they are in 
need of help, can think of their friends at home, who 
would be glad to help them. But they are far away, 
and it is impossible for them to do anything in the 
way of helping. There was the Prodigal Son. He 
went off into a far country, and spent all his money, 
"in riotous living." Then he hired himself out to a 
man, who sent him into the fields to feed swine. He 
was so hungry, that he was ready to eat the husks on 
which the swine were feeding. But no one gave him 
anything to eat, and he was in danger of starving. 
Then he thought of his home, and said to himself: 
"How many hired servants of my father's, have bread 
enough and to spare, while I perish with hunger." 
He needed help. His father could have given him 
just the help he needed, if he had only been near 
him ; but he was far away, and help from him was im- 
possible. 

And it often happens so now. We are in need of 
help. We have kind, loving friends. They would 
be glad to help us, if they were only near. But they 
are far away, and it is impossible for them to do any- 
thing for our relief. But how different it is with 
Jesus ! He is in every place. He is always near. 
" He is a God" — a Helper — " at hand, and not afar 
off." And this is one thing that makes Him a perfect 
Helper — He is near to help. 

Another thing that does this — is that He is — able 
to help. It sometimes happens that though our 
friends are near us, in our troubles, yet they are not 
able to help us. Take an illustration. There is a 
very rich family. They have a daughter — their only 




THE CRUCIFIXION. 



5 l8 BIBLE MODELS. 

child. She is taken sick with scarlet fever. The doc- 
tor is sent for. He does all that is in his power to 
do; but he finds that he cannot save the child's life. 
Other physicians are called in. They are told to 
spare no expense. Thousands of dollars would be 
freely spent, if only by any means, that dreadful 
disease could be checked. But the doctors say that 
to do this is impossible. They have no ability to 
render the help that is needed. In spite of all that 
they can do — the child must die. 

But it is not so with Jesus. Nothing is impossible 
with Him. His ability to help is perfect. St. Paul 
tells, us that — " He is able to save," and to help — 
"unto the uttermost." "He is able to do exceeding- 
abundantly above all that we can ask, or think." 
"Nothing is too hard for the Lord." Nothing is im- 
possible with Him. He is a perfect Helper, because 
He is able to help in every time of need. 

And then, there is one other thing which shows 
what a perfect Helper Jesus is, and that is — that He 
is willing to help. As one of our beautiful Collects 
says : " He is more ready to hear than we to pray, 
and is wont to give more than either we desire or 
deserve." We read in the Bible that God — "is ready 
to pardon;" — "ready to forgive;" — "ready to save;" 
that — " He waiteth to be gracious." He says of His 
people, — "Before they call, I will answer; and while 
they are yet speaking, I will hear." And then He 
says to each of His people — "I will help thee." 
These passages show us, how willing He is to help us 
when we are in trouble. And when we put these 
things together, and think how near He is to help ; 



JESUS, THE MODEL OF PERFECTION. 519 

how able He is to help ; and how willing He is to help, 
we may well say that He is indeed — a perfect Helper. 

I have one illustration to give, of each of the three 
points just spoken of. The first story shows Jesus to 
us as — 

A Near Helper. The incident related in this story, 
took place many years ago, in the military academy 
at West Point. The Rev. Charles P. Mcllvaine, after- 
wards Bishop of Ohio, was then the chaplain of the 
academy. While he was chaplain there, a revival of 
religion took place among the students. Many of 
them were converted, and became Christians. Among 
these was a young man, whose name was Leonidas 
Polk. He afterwards became the Bishop of one of 
our Southern States, and was eminently useful there. 
Before his conversion, he was a very careless young 
man, and had neglected his studies. But as soon as 
he became a Christian, he gave up those careless 
habits, and was known as one of the most diligent, 
and industrious students in the academy. But he 
could not, all at once, make up for the studies he had 
neglected. Not long after this, the final examination 
in the studies of that year, came on. He was very 
anxious about this examination. The fear that he 
might fail, and so lose his place in the class, and bring 
disgrace on the cause of Christ, with which he was 
now connected, made him feel very uncomfortable. 
The branch of study that he had particularly neglected, 
was that of mathematics. The examination began. 
He was called to the blackboard, and a problem was 
given him to solve. It was one he had never studied. 
He knew nothing about it. He stood there utterly 



520 BIBLE MODELS. 

at a loss to know what to do. The thought of the 
disgrace which failure would bring upon himself, 
and the reproach to the cause of Christ, distressed 
him greatly. He lifted up his heart in earnest, silent 
prayer, to his new-found Friend in heaven, for help. 
Then he picked up the chalk, and began to work upon 
the problem, but he was all in the dark about it. 
Presently he saw his way clear to make a beginning, 
and went slowly on, till he got through. But he was 
afraid it might not be right, and felt anxious to know 
what the professor would say about it. Presently, his 
turn came to be examined. He went on, and ex- 
plained what he had done. While doing this, he saw 
the professors whispering to each other, and he feared 
they had found something wrong about it. But he 
got through with his work, and then waited, in fear, 
to hear what would be said about it. 

"Mr. Polk," said the professor in charge, "where 
did you get that solution ?" 

"Is it not right, sir?" 

"Right!" he replied. "It is not only right, but it 
is the most beautiful demonstration of that problem 
ever given. It is new, sir. It does not appear in any 
of the books." 

This was wonderful. That young man needed help, 
in the examination-room. He prayed to Jesus for it, 
and found Him near to help, even there. Truly He 
is a perfect Helper. 

Our next story shows that He is — 

An Able Helper. A little ragged boy, named Jim, 
belonging to a mission school, received one day, a 
card on which were printed the words — "Mighty to 



JESUS, THE MODEL OF PERFECTION. 52 1 

Save." He put it in the pocket of his ragged jacket, 
carried it home, and at night, before going to sleep, 
he tried to spell it out, but he could not understand it. 
He resolved to ask his teacher about it next Sunday, 
and he did so. Jim was a weak-minded little fellow. 
The rude boys in the court called him — "Soft-headed 
Jim." Yet he was trying to be a Christian, and was a 
very good-natured boy. 

His teacher tried to show him that — "Mighty to 
Save" referred to Jesus, and that the meaning of those 
words was, that He would put His arms round us, and 
would always help us when we were trying to do right. 
Jim made up his mind to try and do some good at 
home, and hoped that the one — "Mighty to Save" 
would help him. So when he woke the next morning, 
he was thinking how he should begin. His father and 
mother were both drunkards. They lay there sleep- 
ing heavily. His little brother Tom, whose legs had 
been broken by his father, in one of his drunken 
sprees, and who after weeks of suffering, was just 
able to sit up, was leaning on his elbows, longing for 
something to eat. 

" Jim," said little Tom, " I'm awful hungry. Couldn't 
yer get me something to eat?" 

"I wish I knowed where to get it, Tom," said Jim. 
Just then a thought came into his mind. "Wait a bit, 
Tom. I shouldn't wonder if I could do it," said Jim. 
"I've just got 'quainted with one that can help." 

Then he went over, to the other corner of the room, 
and kneeling down, he offered this simple prayer : 
"Oh, dear Jesus, mighty to save, will yer show a poor 
feller how to get a few crusts of bread, or somethin' 



522 BIBLE MODELS. 

for his little brother, who is sick and starvin'? Do, 
dear Jesus, and do it quick. Amen." Then he ran 
out of doors, and got into the street. The pavements 
were covered with snow. A lady opened the front 
door of one of the houses, and said to her little girl, 
"Who can we get to clear the snow off the pavement?" 

"Oh, ma'am, can I clear off the snow?" said little 
Jim. 

"You ! why you are such a little fellow?" 

44 Yes'um, I'm little, but I'm strong. And Him that's 
mighty to save, is going to help me." 

The lady did not know what he meant. 

44 Come into the hall, my boy," she said. "It's too 
cold to stand talking here." While Jim was warming 
himself by the stove, she asked him what he meant by 
what he had just said. In a simple, earnest way, Jim 
tried to explain his meaning. While he was speaking 
the lady's heart was touched, and her eyes were filled 
with tears. Then she went into the kitchen, and re- 
turned with a lunch. "Eat this, little Jim," she said, 
"and then you can clean the pavement." 

"I will clean the pavement first, ef you please, 
ma'am. I'm in a hurry to get back to poor Tom." 

The pavement was soon cleaned, and Jim returned 
to the door. There he received a package, which the 
lady said was to pay for his service. 

Jim ran home, as fast as he could go. Tom saw 
him enter the room, carrying a bundle. "Oh, Jim, 
hev yer got something for me ?" he asked. 

Jim opened the box, and as he saw the nice things 
in it, he had to shout for joy. As for Tom, tears and 
smiles were chasing each other, over his pale, eager 



JESUS, THE MODEL OF PERFECTION. 523 

face ; he clasped his hands for joy, and asked : " Oh, 
Jim, where did yer get all these good things?" and 
then his voice grew sad, as he added: "Jim, yer a 
good brother, an awful good brother, and I love yer ; 
but yer didn't steal them, did you ? Remember the 
commandment yer learned at school, and taught me." 

"No, little Tom, I'd starve 'fore I'd steal ; an' Tom, 
much as I love yer, I'd rather y'ud starve too, cause 
then we'd go up there, you know," said he, pointing 
upwards. "Eat away, Tom; Him that's mighty to 
save, helped me to get these." 

"Where does he live? Is he an angel?" asked Tom, 
while eagerly devouring one of the nice sandwiches 
which Jim had brought. 

"He's better and stronger than all the angels. He's 
the King of heaven," said Jim, reverently. 

"Why, Jim, where could you a seen him?" asked 
Tom, in a great wonder. 

In answer to this Jim explained about the One 
mighty to save ; how he had gone to Him, and prayed 
for help, to find bread for his starving brother. "An' 
Tom," said he, "I'll never be afraid of nothin' while 
I live — no nothin'." 

"Not of pa knockin' yer over the head, and throwin' 
sticks, and the poker, and the ugly iron chair at yer ? 
Oh, Jim, ye'll be afraid of that, won't yer?" 

"No, never! Why, Tommy, didn't I tell yer that 
the arm of Him that is mighty to save is aroun' me ? 
Ef father sh'ud kill me," and his voice sank lower — 
"it wouldn't be me layin' here with the blood spurtin' 
on the white face and the rags. I'd — I'd be — oh, 
Tommy, I'd be up in the arms of Jesus. Just think 



524 BIBLE MODELS. 

of that ! ain't it comfortin', awful comfortin', to think 
of Him that's mighty to save?" 

The boys thought their parents were fast asleep, 
but they had been awake for some time with their eyes 
shut, listening to all the little ones were saying. 

Tom lay back on his bed, feeling very comfortable 
after eating three nice sandwiches. 

Jim said : "Let's save these big slices, with the nice 
meat 'tween 'em, for father and mother." 

"I'm willin'," said Tom, '.'but they'd rather have 
somethin' to drink." 

" Poor father ! poor mother !" said Jim. 

" Does yer pity 'em, Jim?" asked Tom. 

" Pity 'em, and love 'em too," said Jim. 

" How can yer, when they're so cruel to us, — beat- 
in', and jawin', and poundin' everythin' aroun' ?" 

"I do, 'cause I ought," said Jim ; "an' Tom, mebbe 
Him that's mighty to save, will do somethin' for them. 
I'm prayin' for them." 

" He wouldn't for them, Jim ; they're too bad." 

"Teacher said He'd save to the uttermost. I can't 
remember all she said ; but I think t/iey's the uttermost, 
an' ef Him that's mighty to save 'ud put His arms 
about 'em, He'd lift 'em up. But, Tom, I'm goin' out 
now, to get somethin' for father, and mother, with the 
money that kind lady gave me." 

Before going out, he noticed that his father and 
mother had turned their faces to the wall, but he didn't 
know that they were weeping bitterly. While the 
boy was out buying some coal, and coffee, and milk, 
and sugar, they lay there thinking of their wicked lives, 
and of those wonderful words — "Mighty to save" 



JESUS, THE MODEL OF PERFECTION. 525 

Jim came back. The hot coffee was soon ready. 
He and Tom had drank a cup of it, and were waiting 
for their father and mother to wake up. 

"I wish they'd wake up, Tom." 

" Mebbe they'll pound you when they do." 

"I ain't 'fraid, yer know, with the Mighty One to 
help me." 

"Jim! little Jim !" his father called. He hastened to 
him, thinking something strange had happened, for 
his father had never spoken to him so gently. " Jim, 
God bless you! Jim, Him that's mighty to save is 
near me, boy. I'm going to follow Him too." And so 
he did. And the mother did the same. 

This led to a blessed change in that family. It be- 
came a very happy family, and it was all brought about 
by the help which Jesus gave to that dear little boy, Jim. 

I have one other story, much shorter than the last. 
This shows us that Jesus is — 

A Willing Helper. A soldier, who had lived a 
long life in sin, lay on a hospital cot, sick, and full of 
trouble. A kind nurse stood near. She saw that the 
patient was restless, and asked what she could do to 
make him feel better. 

"I don't know: I want something," answered the 
sick man. "I feel dreadfully." 

The nurse brought a cup of water, saying, "Wouldn't 
you like a drink?" 

The soldier took the cup in his trembling hand, but 
said : " No, this isn't what I want." 

" It is almost time for the surgeon to come," said the 
nurse kindly. "Perhaps he may be able to do some- 
thing for you." 



526 BIBLE MODELS. 

"Well, he can't do much for me," sighed the poor 
man. "It ain't such help that I need. Oh, I'm a 
dreadful wicked man ; and the way before me is dark 
— all dark." 

The nurse was a Christian ; and by this time she 
understood what was the matter with the patient ; so 
she sat down beside his bed, and asked him if he 
wouldn't like to hear what the Bible has to say to 
sinful men, who want something which the surgeon, 
or the nurse, cannot give. 

"Oh, yes!" moaned the sick man, "that's it; but 
there's no use in it. It's a long time since I've had 
anything to do with the Bible, and I'm the greatest 
sinner in the world ; and it's all dark ahead — very 
dark !" 

" But Jesus is always able and willing to help poor 
sinners. Now listen to what He says," and opening 
the Bible, at the third chapter of St. John, she began 
to read. The man listened attentively, until she had 
finished the sixteenth verse : "God so loved the world, 
that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever 
believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlast- 
ing life." 

" Stop !" said he. " Read that again." 

She read it again. 

" But what does that — 'whosoever' — mean ?" the sick 
man eagerly inquired. 

"It means," said the nurse, "anybody or every- 
body." 

"No, not everybody. Not such a sinner as I am," 
said he. 

"Yes, just so," was her answer. 




JESUS IS' TAKEN DOWN FROM THE CROSS. 



5?< 



BIBLE MODELS. 



" One so vile and hardened?" 

"It is just such that Jesus came to save. There 
are none so wicked, or so low, and so miserable but 
that they can have Jesus if they want Him. 'Whoso- 
ever' is willing, may be saved." 

"Read that verse once more?" and the sick man 
looked into the nurse's face with the most intense 
earnestness. When she stopped, his face lighted up 
with hope and joy as he exclaimed : " ' Whosoever be- 
lieveth' — then it does mean me! Oh! the wonderful 
willingness of Jesus to save, and to help !" 

But, in the third place, He is a perfect Saviour, be- 
cause He prepares for His people — a perfect home — 
in heaven. 

He will make their bodies perfect, after the pattern 
of His own glorious body, as it appeared on the Mount 
of Transfiguration. He will make their souls perfect. 
They will be entirely free from sin forever. He will 
put them in a perfect home. Before He left this world, 
Jesus said to His disciples, — "I go to prepare a place 
for you." If we wish to know what sort of a place 
this will be, we must read the last two chapters of the 
book of Revelation. . There we have a full description 
of it. It is called — " the heavenly city — the New 
Jerusalem." It will be a city such as no one ever saw 
before. Its gates will be made of pearl. Its walls 
and its foundations, will be made of jewels, or precious 
stones. Its streets will all be of gold, as clear as 
crystal. The throne of God will be in it. The angels 
will be our companions there. No pain ; no sickness; 
no crying ; and no sin will be there. And in that 
blessed place we shall have our home forever. 




AN ANGEL TELLS THE "WOMEN THAT JESUS IS RISEN. 



530 BIBLE MODELS. 

We shall be better off then, than the angels will be. 
For Jesus will wear our nature, amidst the glory of 
that heavenly state, but He will not wear the nature 
of angels, and this must bring us nearer to Him than 
they can ever be. 

And then, we shall be able to sing the song of 
praise — " to Him who hath loved us, and washed us 
from our sins in His own blood!' But the angels can 
never sing that song ; because they have not been 
washed in that blood. They have heard about — " the 
riches of redeeming love ;" but they can never ex- 
perience the joy which that love imparts. And so 
we need not be surprised, when we hear some good 
people say, that they would not be willing to change 
places with the angels. The happiness which Jesus — 
the perfect Saviour — is preparing for His people in 
heaven, is greater than that which the angels will have 
there. Here are some sweet lines on this subject. 
They may be called — 

THE HIGHEST PLACE IN HEAVEN. 
"It may be wrong — but yet I would not be 
An angel, formed in spotless purity ; 
It may be strange, yet with my sins and cares, 
I would not change this lot of mine for theirs. 
They, in the light of God have ever shone, 
Yet joys are mine, which they have never known. 
They, since He made them- first, have ever been 
Viewing His love, no earthly veil between ; 
In that, from age to age, they still abide, 
Drink of its fulness, and are satisfied ; 
Yet even they, bend down new depths to see, 
New depths of love, the love that rescued me. 
Sweet are their songs, yet not to them is given 
To sing the song of the redeemed in heaven. 



3 



m?m£ *H?-o 







JESUS APPEARS TO HIS DISCIPLES ON THE WAY TO EMMAUS. 



532 BIBLE MODELS. 

Bright are their crowns, their harps are shining gold, 

Yet in their hands no victor's palm they hold, 

No wreath they wear, such as shall clasp the brow 

Of those who pass through tribulation now. 

Their robes are white, yet they shall fade, beside 

The robes that Jesus' blood hath purified. 

They near Him stand, but for His Bride alone, 

Remains the place the nearest to His throne ; 

To her alone, it shall be given to rest 

Upon His arm, and lean upon His breast. 

Blest thought ! Each conflict here, each bitter strife, 

Shall then add sweetness to the cup of life. 

Each heavy stroke, shall but his child prepare, 

To be a pillar in His temple there ; 

There, where the things which darkly now I see, 

Shall be in perfect light revealed to me. 

Then be it so ; a sinner though I am, 

Yet will I boast and glory in the Lamb." 

And when we think, of the three things, of which 
we have spoken, the perfect example, He sets be- 
fore His people ; the perfect help, He affords them in 
following that example ; and the perfect home, He is 
preparing for them — we see how truly He ma)' be 
spoken of as a perfect Saviour — or as — the Model of 
Perfection. 




INDEX OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PAGE 

The Flight into Egypt Frontispiece. 

Abel's Offering 8 

The Shepherds come to Bethlehem n 

Jesus in the Temple 13 

They brought All that were Diseased 17 

Jesus Blessing Little Children 19 

"Behold, I Stand at the Door and Knock" 35 

Jesus Restores Life to the Dead 39 

Jesus Teaching the People from a Boat at the Sea- 
shore 45 

"Whosoever Receiveth One Little Child" 55 

Noah Builds the Ark 59 

533 



534 INDEX OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PAGE 



The Ark is Finished 65 

The Flood 73 

Noah Builds an Altar and Offers Sacrifice 79 

The Sermon on the Mount 83 

The Transfiguration , . 87 

Jesus Heals the Impotent Man 91 

Job Hears of his Losses 95 

Job in Affliction 97 

Job is Visited by his Three Friends 99 

Job in Prosperity 107 

Abraham Leaves his Own Country 115 

Abraham is About to Sacrifice his Son Isaac 121 

Jesus' Disciples let down their Nets 129 

Jesus Washes the Disciples' Feet 133 

Moses Hidden by his Mother in an Ark of Bulrushes . 135 

Pharaoh's Daughter and the Infant Moses 137 

Moses hears a Voice out of the Burning Bush .... 139 

Moses and Aaron before King Pharaoh 143 

Pharaoh and his Army 145 

The Egyptians Follow After the Israelites 149 

Moses Strikes Water from the Rock 153 

Moses Descends the Mountain 157 

The Israelites Worship a Golden Calf 163 

Joseph is Sold to the Ishmaelites . 167 

Joseph Interprets Pharaoh's Dream . . 173 

Joseph Makes Himself Known to his Brothers .... 179 

Samuel's Mother brings Him to Eli the Priest .... 191 

Samuel hears the Voice of the Lord 193 

Jesus Talks with the Woman at the Well 199 

Samuel tells Saul he is King oyer Israel 205 



INDEX OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 535 



PAGE 



Jesus Heals the Leper 213 

Childhood's Prayer 215 

An Eastern Shepherd 219 

Jesus Brings to Life the Ruler's Daughter 223 

David the Model of Praise 227 

David the Psaemist 245 

David is Anointed King over Israee 251 

"Suffer Little Children to Come unto Me" 261 

Jesus Foretells the Destruction of Jerusalem .... 269 

Jesus Raises Lazarus from the Tomb 275 

Nathan tells David He shall be Punished 279 

Jonathan and his Armor-bearer 283 

David overcomes Goliath and Cuts Off his Head . . . 287 

Samuel Warns Saul 293 

Jonathan Promises to be David's Friend 299 

Elijah Brings to Life the Son of the Widow 307 

Elijah at the Brook Cherith 313 

Elijah Prophesies 317 

Elijah and the Priests of Baal 325 

Elisha Brings the Woman's Son to Life 333 

The Widow's Jar of Oil fills Many Vessels 337 

Elisha Heals the Sick 345 

Jeremiah tells the King to gtve up Jerusalem .... 359 

Jerusalem Taken by the Assyrians 371 

Nehemiah asks the King to let Him go to Jerusalem . 381 
Nehemiah starts on his Journey to Jerusalem .... 387 

Rebuilding the Wall of Jerusalem 393 

Nehemiah Preaches to the People 397 

The Jews Rebuild the Temple at Jerusalem 405 

Daniel in the Lion's Den 407 



536 INDEX OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PAGE 



Daniel's Three Friends refuse to Worship 417 

Daniel refuses to Eat at the King's Table 423 

Laban Engages Jacob 431 

The Widow's Mite 435 

The Infant Jesus and His Mother 437 

Jesus Parting from His Mother , 441 

Jesus on the Mount 443 

Jesus Bears the Crown of Thorns 449 

The Prodigal Son returns to his Father 453 

The Angel Gabriel appears to Zacharias 457 

John the Baptist preaches in the Wilderness 459 

The Good Samaritan helps the Wounded Man .... 471 

Jesus changes Water into Wine 475 

John the Baptist Beheaded in Prison 481 

Paul Struck Blind by a Light from Heaven 487 

The Shipwreck of St. Paul 495 

Jesus Casts Out an Evil Spirit 499 

Mary the Mother of Jesus 507 

Jesus Enters Jerusalem 509 

Jesus and His Apostles in the Garden of Gethsemane . 511 

Jesus Led Away to the High Priest 513 

Peter Denies that He is a Disciple of Jesus 515 

The Crucifixion 5 J 7 

Jesus is Taken Down from the Cross 5 2 7 

An Angel tells the Women that Jesus is Risen .... 529 

Jesus Appears to His Disciples on the Way to Emmaus . 531 



BIBLE MODELS; 

OR, 

The Shining Lights of Scripture, 

A BOOK FOR THE YOUNG. 

Bible Instruction Made Easy and Interesting. 

By Rev. RICHARD NEWTON, D. D. 



536 Pages and 100 Beautiful Engravings 
from Pictures by Famous Artists. 



The author of " BIBLE xMODELS "—Dr. Richard Newton— was 
for many years rector of one of the principal churches of Philadelphia. 
He was celebrated as a speaker to large audiences of young people, and for 
his ability to inspire in them habits of thought and rules of conduct leading 
to success and happiness in after life. This book is therefore the product 
of his long experience as a teacher. The Sunday-school connected with 
Dr. Newton's Church being well filled and flourishing, it was no unusual 
thing for him to talk to as many as 500 children at one time, who list- 
ened attentively to his graphic descriptions of Bible Scenes and to the 
excellent stories with which he exemplified them. No coaxing ever was 
necessary to induce young people to come to these lectures, for the speaker's 
delightful fund of anecdote and story, collected during a life-time of 
active and earnest work in the ministry, aptly illustrated the Bible lessons 
as he carried them onward, and made clear and plain to childish minds the 
great truths of the Gospel. 

This book, " BIBLE MODELS," having been written by such a dis- 
tinguished author, containing his best thoughts and most interesting ex- 
periences, could hardly fail to be a valuable and meritorious work. It re- 
sembles no other book on the Bible ever written, but has a character 
and originality all its own. Fascinating to the young, it is a favorite in 
every home where there are little ones, and when the children have laid it 
down, their elders take it up, finding almost equal interest and pleasure in it. 

Charles Foster Publishing Co., 716 Sansom Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 



THIS 



STORY OF THE BIBLE 

FROM GENESIS TO REVELATION. 

Told in Simple Language. Adapted to all Ages, but Especially 
to the Young. 

By CHARLES FOSTER. 



A BOOK OF 704 PAGES. 300 ILLUSTRATIONS. 



INTERESTING AS A STORY-BOOK. 



Five Hundred Thousand Sold, 



This book has been proved by the unfailing test of time and by its 
very general adoption, not only in families, but in schools and institu- 
tions of learning throughout the land, to present the best simple version 
of the Holy Scriptures ever offered to the public. It is suitable for chil- 
dren, adults, or any who desire to acquire with ease and pleasure a 
knowledge of the main portions of the Bible. 

Although simplified in language, the. spirit of the Scripture narra- 
tive is most carefully preserved, and all the incidents of the Bible story, 
from Genesis to Revelation, are told in an interesting and continuous 
form. 

Eminent men, well qualified to judge of such a work, have given 
it their warmest approval, and the public generally have testified to its 
interest and merit by adopting it as the standard of its class, and by a 
demand which requires it to be kept constantly upon the printing- 
press. 

The conditions under which the " Story of the Bible" was publish- 
ed were peculiarly favorable. Its author, having had many years' ex- 

Charles Foster Publishing Co., 716 Sansom Street, Philadelphia. Pa. 



perience as a teacher of the Scriptures, felt the need of a simple version 
of the Bible, which would give its stories, its precepts, and its doctrines 
in a continuous narrative, and in such simple language as would be in- 
telligible to children, and uneducated adults, without additional explan- 
ation. 

Being unable to find such a work, he, from time to time, set him- 
self to the task of presenting the Scriptures in this manner : at first, 
preparing only such portions as were required for his own use. 

Gradually becoming impressed with the magnitude and importance 
of the work he had entered upon, he threw himself into the task with 
incredible industry and single-hearted devotion, and made it his life- 
work. As indicating the study and effort bestowed in giving a correct 
and proper rendering to every passage in the Bible, days were some- 
times spent in perfecting a single sentence, and the rendering of obscure 
and difficult passages of the Bible in plain and easy words was an ever- 
present thought for fully fifteen years of the author's life. 

In addition to the care bestowed upon the manuscript, as succeed- 
ing editions were printed, the "Story of the Bible' ' was set in type three 
different times; it each time received careful revision by the author. 

The book as it now appears is, therefore, the result of much patient 
and conscientious labor, and in accurate rendering of the Bible narrative 
it is so full and satisfactory as to be beyond the criticism of the most 
scholarly reader. 

The illustrations were provided under the personal direction of 
the author, and thousands of dollars expended in designs and engravings 
that would be worthy of the work. Three hundred pictures 
illustrate all the principal events of Bible history, and aid the text in 
impressing upon the mind the stirring incidents of the Scripture narra- 
tive. 

Since its first publication the sale of the " Story of the Bible" has 
increased from year to year, and, as will be seen by referring to the 
title page, the number of copies now sold is more than 500,000 — 
a figure seldom reached by a book, but which in the case of the "Story 
of the Bible" is being added to at the rate of many thousands of copies 
annually. 

Charles Foster Publishing Co., 716 Sansom Street, Philadelphia. Pa. 



STORY OF THE GOSPEL 

AND 

SCENES IN BIBLE LANDS. 

BY CHARLES FOSTER, AUTHOR OF THE " STORY OF THE BIBLE," ETC. 

The Life of Christ, written iu "Words easy to Read and Understand. 

PRINTED IN LARGE PLAIN TYPE AND FILLED WITH PICTURES. 

Containing a Superb Collection of Views of the Sites and Cities of the Holy 

Land. A very large number of illustrations representing the 

Appearance and Customs of Eastern Peoples, their 

Dress, Manners and Mode of Life. 

276 PICTURES. NEARLY 400 PAGES. 



IN some respects this work possesses greater interest for readers both old and young, 
than any other book belonging to the well-known and popular series. 
It contains the Story of Christ's Life on Earth in such plain and easy words 
that young readers can understand it, will enjoy being instructed from it, and can read it 
for themselves. 

While far superior to any other book of its class in the simplicity of its style, the well- 
sustained interest of its continuous story, and the value of its teachings, the Remarkable 
Collection of Pictures which it also contains cannot fail to create interest. 

It may be confidently asserted that no set of illustrations, equalling in variety and 
merit those contained in this volume, has ever before been published in any book of the 
price. Not only is the number of these pictures unusual — 275 in all— but their character is 
of such interest and value, and they differ so widely from those contained in most other 
books of the same class, that the desire to possess them is sure to be awakened by even the 
most casual glance at their attractions. 

All the Principal Incidents of the New Testament Narrative are illustrated 
with a fulness seldom, if ever before attempted, and accurate views of scenes in the Bible 
Lands accompany the text. 

These show the aspect at the present day of many of the places mentioned in the 
Scriptures, the Dress and Appearance of Eastern Peoples, Noted Sites and the 
Remains of Ancient Buildings, the whole forming an inexhaustible store of amusement 
and instruction for readers both young and old. 

, The book is of good size, measuring 7^x10 inches. The wide pages effectively dis- 
play the numerous pictures and clear plain type. 

An unusually elaborate and beautiful design, stamped upon the side and back, appro 
priately ornaments the exterior, and aids in rendering this book ona of the most attractive 
that has ever been brought before the public 

Charles Foster Publishing Co., 716 Sansom Street, Philadelphia. Pa. 



FIRST STEPS 

FOR LITTLE FEET IN GOSPEL PATHS. 

By CHARLES FOSTER, Author of the "Story of the Bible," etc. 



328 Pages, 16 mo. with a colored Frontispiece and 148 Illustrations. 
Printed in Large Plain Type and Filled with Pictures. 

This book has been prepared for the little ones in 
the nursery or infant school. It is arranged on a differ- 
ent plan from any of the author's preceding works. In- 
stead of being divided into chapters, it consists of separ- 
ate passages or lessons, most of them quite short, and 
each one complete in itself. Each lesson has at least one 
illustration, and is followed by questions so simple that 
the little hearers, if attentive when the passage is read, 
may readily answer them. 

It is no easy matter to write a book for children of 
five or six years of age. To the author there seemed to 
be but one way of doing it with any assurance of success, 
and that was to impart the subject-matter of the intended 
book to a little child by word of mouth, carefully omitting 
or amplifying, during the process, any portion of the dis- 
course which failed to interest his hearer. 

Accordingly, when preparing "First Steps" the 
author had a little child placed before him, to whom he 
addressed himself, while a short-hand writer at his side 
took down the words as they were spoken. After these 
had been carefully written out, they were corrected and 
re-corrected for the press. The book is attractively bound 
and contains 140 illustrations. 
Charles Foster Publishing Co., 716 Sansom Street, Philadelphia. Pa. 



BIBLE PICTURES 

AND 

WHAT THEY TEACH US, 

A Book Containing 315 Illustrations from the Old and New Testaments, with 
hrief descriptions. 333 large Pages 

BY CHARLES FOSTER, Author of the " Story of the Bible," Eto. 



THE COLLECTION OF BIBLE PICTURES contained in this book is 
probably one of the most complete that has ever been brought together in 
one volumn. 

In preparing the work, the greatest care has been observed to use only 
such designs as will ADEQUATELY ILLUSTRATE THE BIBLE SCENES 
and fittingly portray the principal events in Bible history. 

It has been a matter of great difficulty to obtain so large a number of 
pictures of the necessary merit, as illustrations of Bible subjects present 
peculiar difficulties to the artist. While preserving the freedom of style and 
vigor of treatment necessary to give life to his designs and reality to the 
VARIED SCENES OF THE SCRIPTURE NARRATIVE, he must preserve 
for them a feeling of reverence and endow them with a dignity worthy of 
their sacred character. 

A large number of the pictures in this book are reproduced from designs 
by foreign artists, who have been celebrated for their skill in this branch of 
art. Others are by artists in this country. Most of the pictures were person- 
ally selected by, or else drawn under the direction of, the author, who spent 
years of labor and thousands of dollars in forming this collection. 

The book forms a COMPLETE PICTORIAL HISTORY of the main 
portion of the Bible. Many parts are so fully illustrated that the narrative 
can be followed, and understood, by merely looking at the series of pictures 
which illustrate them, so that CHILDREN UNABLE TO READ may obtain 
a fair idea of the nature and sequence of Biblical events by simply turning 
over the pages. The book, however, is by no means merely a picture book. 
A lucid and brief explanation, written by the author of the "Story of the 
Bible," accompanies each picture, on the same page, or on the page imme- 
diately facing it, so that the picture and the explanation appear simultan- 
eously to the eye. THE LARGE-SIZED PAGES (8 x 9^ inches) afford an 
admirable setting for the 315 pictures, displaying their artistic excellence to 
the best advantage, and furnishing the space necessary for the reading mat- 
ter which accompanies them. 

Charles Foster Publishing Co., 716 Sansom Street, Philadelphia. Pa. 



Christian Heroes and Marturs. 

A History of the Progress of Christianity from Bible Times 
to Latest Periods of Persecution ; 



Lives of the Apostles, Martyrs and Celebrated Men of All Countries 
and All Ages, who Suffered for the Faith. 

CONTAINING ALSO A BRIEF 

HISTORY OF THE BIBLE. 



This book tells how the Bible has been preserved and brought down 
to us. It explains its principal Revisions and Translations, and gives the 
lives of the principal translators — Martin Luther, Wycliffe, Tyndale, and 
others. The Reformation ; the Inquisition ; Persecution of Protestants, etc. 

IT CONTAINS NEARLY 600 PAGES, AND 60 ORIGINAL 
FULL-PAGE ENGRAVINGS. 

"Christian Heroes and Martyrs" tells the "Story of 
Christianity" from Bible Times. It takes up the history of our religion 
at the close of the Gospel Era — the first century after Christ — and carries it 
down through the ages, giving the wonderful story of its progress and in- 
fluence upon mankind during 

1800 YEARS OF THE AYORLDS HISTORY. 

The annals of the past contain nothing grander or more inspiring 
than the struggles between the forces of heathendom and the upholders of 
the Christian faith. France and the Huguenots ; England under Queen 
Mary ; story of Ridley and Latimer ; Cranmer, and the English Martyrs. 

"Christian Heroes" carries the reader through the most thrilling 
scenes of Religious History. It commences at the beginning of the Christian 
era, and comes down to modern times, giving, in the form of an interest- 
ing story, the substance of many volumes. A clear general knowledge of 
all the most important events may be pleasurably and quickly acquired 
from it. 

The type in which the book is printed is clear and plain ; the paper 
of fine quality, and the binding unusually handsome. It is illustrated 
with sixty full-page engravings, all new and designed for the book by 
distinguished artists. 

Charles Foster Publishing Co., 716 Sansom Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 




BIBLES. 

In all Sizes of Type and every Style of Binding. 

FAMILY BIBLES, containing both the New and Old Versions 
printed in Parallel Columns, Pronouncing Text, Hundreds of Illustra- 
tions, Bible Dictionary and Special 
Features; at LOWEST PRICES. 
Also Medium-Sized Bibles. Leather 
and Cloth Binding in great variety. 
OXFORD TEACHERS' BIBLES, 
containing the Old and New Test- 
aments, with references, Concordance, Bible History, Maps, Valuable 
Indexes, etc., etc., also "HELPS TO THE STUDY OF THE BIBLE," 
written by eminent Biblical Scholars, for the special purpose of giving 
to Students and Teachers a fuller understanding of the Scriptures. 

THE 

Pilgrim's Progress. 

By JOHN BUNYAN. 
A Superb New Edition, 

PRINTED IN LARGE PLAIN TYPE 
AND CONTAINING 

ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY ILLUSTRATIONS, 

WITH A LIFE OF THE AUTHOR (also Illustrated.) 

This elegant new edition will delight all lovers of beautiful books. 
Apart from the interest of the wonderful Allegory, the beauty and 
historic accuracy of the One Hundred and Seventy Superb Illus- 
trations, delineating as they do modes of dress and customs of two 
centuries ago, as well as presenting to the eye all the stirring incidents 
of the story, must prove a constant source of entertainment and delight 
to readers old and young. 

Charles Foster Publishing Co., 716 Sansom Street, Philadelphia. Pa. 



